Reading The Saga: Breaking Dawn
by SaiyukiLover232
Summary: Sarabella and E.J Black suddenly appear in the Cullens' living room with the Twilight Saga. The Cullen family, their witnesses, the shape-shifters, and their imprintees, are going to be reading the Twilight Saga. Can the Cullens and all the shape-shifters finally understand one another? And will the Cullens be able to handle Jacob and Renesmee's children from the future? R
1. Arrival

**Disclaimer: I do now own Twilight!**

**I just really wanted to write a story where characters read their own books. I was debating between doing Twilight or Harry Potter – and in the end, Twilight won. I do love Harry Potter more, but there is way less stories with Twilight characters reading the books, and plenty of Harry Potter ones.**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

_Emphasis/Renesmee's gift_

**Text from books**

**~T~**

The atmosphere in the Cullens' living room was tense. Even the return of Carlisle and Esme with their final witness – his name was Alistair, and all he did was sit in the attic, brooding and complaining – couldn't ease the tension.

The TV was always left on, either playing a football game or on the news channel, though none of the vampires had any interest in watching it. The only ones who watched the TV – or made any sort of noise at all – were Jacob, Seth, Renesmee, and sometimes, Emmett.

Currently, Seth and Jacob were seated on the white couch, their eyes locked on the flat-screen TV, occasionally cheering. They were playing a video game on the Xbox 360. Loud explosions and shooting noises were coming from the speakers.

Edward, Bella, and Renesmee all silently entered the living room. Jacob immediately stopped what he was doing, his eyes flickering over to Renesmee.

"Sorry, Seth," Jacob said, placing his controller on the coffee table. "I'm done playing."

"What. C'mon, Jake," Seth complained, but it didn't matter.

Jacob got to his feet and headed over to Bella. Renesmee reached for Jacob and Bella handed her over to him. The moment Jacob had Renesmee in his arms, he sat down in one of the nearest armchairs and she placed her little hand against his cheek, telling him about her morning so far.

"I'll play with you, Seth." Emmett said, sitting down next to Seth and grabbing the controller which had been Jacob's.

"Thanks –" Seth began.

Suddenly, a bright white light filled the living room. Everyone shielded their sensitive eyes from the blinding light.

Within seconds, the light had disappeared as quickly as it had come. However, standing in the room were two new people.

Everyone within the room immediately moved into a defensive position.

The two people – a teenage girl and boy – were both immensely beautiful.

The girl had a petite statute and stood at the height of 5'2. Her hair was an unusual bronze colour which fell to her waist in perfect ringlets with deep-set, brilliant green eyes which sparkled. She had a heart-shaped face, high cheekbones, perfect eyebrows, a straight nose, a strong jawline, and full lips. Her skin was pale, but she also had rosy cheeks.

The boy stood at the height of 5'10 and was lean. He had short, untidy yet curly, raven-black hair and deep-set chocolate brown eyes that twinkled. He, too, had perfect and angular features – high cheekbones, a strong jawline, perfect eyebrows, a straight nose, and full lips. His skin was russet, opposed to the girl's pale skin.

"They look like us." Bella murmured softly to Edward. "And Jake,"

Edward nodded his head. The two strangers did look like him, Bella, and Jacob.

"Their heart beats also sound like Renesmee's." Bella noted, and it was true. Both the teenage boy and girl had rapidly beating hearts.

"Edward," Carlisle spoke, looking over at his adopted son.

"They mean us no harm." Edward announced, coming out of his crouch.

Rather reluctantly, everyone came out of their defensive positions, though everyone still kept a wary eye on the two strangers.

"I'm sorry for the surprise." The teenage girl spoke in a lovely, bell-like voice. "My name is Sarabella Black."

"And my name is E.J." The teenage boy said. "I am her brother."

Sarabella gestured to herself and her brother. "We are from the future."

Jacob recoiled in surprise, but he didn't say anything, mostly because he didn't know what to say. This _was_ impossible.

Eleazar shook his head. "This is impossible…" He said to himself. "It can' be… but…" He began muttering different theories under his breath.

Maggie took a step forward, her crimson red eyes locked on Sarabella and E.J. "They are telling the truth." She told everyone. "They _are_ from the future."

Jacob was shaking his head. These two teenagers looked like a combination of him, Edward, and Bella… and the only way that was possible would be if… Jacob looked down at Renesmee, who was still in his arms, and shook his head again. He _couldn't_ – and _wouldn't_ – think about his Nessie like that. It was just impossible for him. Right now, Jacob was just her big brother, her protector, _her wolf_.

Renesmee pressed her hand against Jacob's cheek, showing him that everything was okay, that nothing could change.

"So you are…" Bella didn't finish her sentence, though she motioned towards Jacob and Renesmee.

Sarabella nodded her head. "Yes, we are."

"Why are you here?" Carlisle questioned politely.

Sarabella reached into the over-the-shoulder bag she was wearing and pulled out a book-set. "We have four books to read with you." She said, sounding rather serious.

Emmett suddenly burst into laughter. "You come to the _past _to read some _books _with us."

E.J rolled his eyes and said, "These books are the **Twilight Saga**: **Twilight**, **New Moon**, **Eclipse**, and **Breaking Dawn**."

"Okay," Garrett said. He, too, was laughing. "They are still books."

Sarabella scowled. "These books follow the lives of Bella and Edward. And the last book – **Breaking Dawn **– has the outcome of the Volturi confrontation, which is why we'll be reading that book with you first, and then the other three."

"What." Bella said, her reddish-orange eyes going to the book-set.

Sarabella nodded her head. "We want _you all _to read these books, as well as a few other people."

"I'm not sure if they will want to read the books with us." Edward spoke in answer to whatever Sarabella was thinking.

"I don't care if they want to or not." Sarabella said. "_They will_ be reading these books…"

**~T~**

Billy, Sue, _all _the shape-shifters – and their imprintees – had all been gathered, rather reluctantly, into the Cullens' living room. Even Alistair had come down from the attic. Due to so many people being in the living room, Esme brought in chairs from other rooms – as well as the basement storage room – for _everyone_ to sit. Though, most of the vampires just preferred to stand.

"Well then," Sarabella said, looking around the room at everyone. "Who'll be reading first?"

"I will," Seth said, shrugging his shoulders. He got to his feet and walked over to Sarabella, taking the book from her. When his fingers brushed hers, he felt a tingly, electric feeling which seemed to jolt through his bones. However, he pretended not to notice and returned back to his spot with the book.

Seth opened the book and cleared his throat…

**~T~**

**Okay, so that is the first chapter! I hope you liked it!**

**I thought it would be interesting to have Jacob and Renesmee's children from the future come to the past to read the books with them. I wasn't going to do Breaking Dawn first, but I thought it would be better for the storyline. I'll then do Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse after that.**

**Also, I tried finding a story where even the Cullens' witnesses read the books, but I could never find one, so that's why they're in this. I also wanted all the shape-shifters and their imprintees involved as well.**

**Characters that are reading the books:**

**Humans:**

Billy Black

Sue Clearwater

Rachel Black

Kim

Claire Young

Emily Young

**Shape-shifters (wolves):**

Jacob Black

Leah Clearwater

Seth Clearwater

Embry Call

Quil Ateara V

Sam Uley

Jared Cameron

Paul Lahote

Brady Fuller

Collin Littlesea

**Vampires:**

Carlisle Cullen

Edward Cullen **(Telepathy)**

Esme Cullen

Rosalie Hale

Emmett Cullen

Alice Cullen **(Precognition)**

Jasper Hale **(Pathokinesis)**

Bella Cullen **(Mental shield)**

Renesmee Cullen **(Tactile thought projection/shield penetration)**

Tanya

Kate **(Psychic electrokinesis)**

Carmen

Eleazar **(Ability identification)**

Garrett

Zafrina **(Visual projection)**

Senna

Siobhan **(Outcome manipulation)**

Liam

Maggie **(Lie detection)**

Stefan

Vladimir

Peter

Charlotte

Mary

Randall

Alistair

**Those are all the characters. Hope you enjoy this story!**

**~ SaiyukiLover232 (Or Yuki)**


	2. Preface & Engaged

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight**

**Soooo… here is the second chapter.**

**I'll try to keep everyone in character, but honestly, some of them might be OOC. **

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

_Emphasis/Renesmee's gift_

**Text from books**

**~T~**

"_Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age_

_The child is grown, and put away childish things._

_Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies."_

_~ Edna St. Vincent Millay_

"**Book One**." Seth read. "**Bella**,"

"That means the book is from my perspective…" Bella said. That also meant _everyone _– that _Edward _– would be able to hear her _embarrassing _thoughts.

Emmett grinned, rubbing his hands together. "This is going to be good."

If Bella could still blush, she was sure that she would definitely be a whole new shade of red.

"It says book one… so there'll be a book two… which means a second perspective, probably." Seth pointed out, setting the book aside. "I wonder whose perspective it'll be…" He looked over at Edward. "Maybe, you because –"

"Shut up, Seth." Jacob said. "Just start reading."

Seth nodded his head and picked the book back up, reading, "**Preface**,"

**I'd had more than my fair share of near-death experiences; it wasn't something you ever really got used to.**

It was only the first sentence of the book and Edward was already feeling guilty. He knew these fair shares of near-death experiences were his fault.

**It seemed oddly inevitable, though, facing death again. Like I really **_**was**_** marked for disaster. I'd escaped time and time again, but it kept coming back for me.**

This time Edward actually winced.

Bella noticed it right away – she liked the fact that nothing could escape her vampire eyes – and turned to give Edward a stern look. "Do not." She told him. "It was _all_ worth it in the end." She gestured to Renesmee, who was curled up on Jacob's lap, to prove her point.

**Still, this time was so different from the others.**

'_This must be about Renesmee,' _Bella thought, looking over her daughter.

**You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies.**

Edward took Bella's hand in his.

**When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it?**

**If it was someone you truly loved?**

Renesmee seemed to understand what the book was talking about. She jumped off Jacob's lap and practically danced across the room to Bella, jumping into her arms. She pressed her little hand against Bella's cheek. _I'm sorry, Momma_.

Bella took Renesmee's free hand in hers. "Don't apologize, sweetie." Bella told her. "You are worth _everything_."

Renesmee rested her head against Bella's shoulder, showing her images of the two of them together.

"**Engaged**." Seth announced the title of the first chapter.

_**No one is staring at you**_**, I promised myself. **_**No one is staring at you. No one is staring at you.**_

**But, because I couldn't lie convincingly even to myself, I had to check.**

Emmett chuckled at this.

**As I sat waiting for one of the three traffic lights in town to turn green, I peeked to the right – ****in her minivan, Mrs. Weber had turned her whole torso in my direction. **

Esme frowned. That wasn't very polite of Mrs. Weber.

"That is very rude." Carmen spoke with a hint of a Spanish accent, which was only detectable by vampire ears.

**Her eyes bored into mine, and I flinched back, wondering why she didn't drop her gaze or look ashamed. It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn't it? Didn't that apply to me anymore?**

**Then I remembered that these windows were so darkly tinted that she probably had no idea if it was even me in here, let alone that I'd caught her looking. I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn't really staring at me, just the car.**

_**My**_** car. Sigh.**

"Your car was a _Mercedes Guardian_." Rosalie said, glaring at Bella. Her glare held no hostility; it was just offence over Bella's lack of excitement for cars.

"Yes, but it wasn't _my _truck." Bella said.

Rosalie wrinkled her nose. "Your truck was _old_."

"And that's why I liked it." Bella mumbled under her breath.

Rosalie rolled her eyes.

**I glanced to the left and groaned. Two pedestrians were frozen on the sidewalk, missing their chance to cross as they stared. Behind them, Mr. Marshall was gawking through the plate-glass window of his little souvenir shop. At least he didn't have his nose pressed up against the glass. Yet.**

"This is why I do not like humans." Stefan said casually, speaking in his smooth tandem.

**The light turned green and, in my hurry to escape, I stomped on the gas pedal without thinking – the normal way I would have punched it to get my ancient Chevy truck moving.**

Edward frowned. He had given Bella the Mercedes Guardian to keep her safe – if he had known she would've struggled with it, he wouldn't have given it to her.

**Engine snarling like a hunting panther, the car jolted forward so fast that my body slammed into the black leather seat and my stomach flattened against my spine.**

"Bella, love, you should've told me you had difficulties with the vehicle." Edward said.

"So you could get me _another _missile-proof vehicle, just easier to drive. I didn't think so." Bella shook her head.

Emmett laughed. "But you so_ needed_ it when you were human, little sis."

Bella chose not to say anything in return.

**"Arg!" I gasped as I fumbled for the brake. Keeping my head, I merely tapped the pedal. The car lurched to an absolute standstill anyway.**

Emmett opened his mouth to make a comment, but Bella spoke first, "I don't drive like that."

"That's because you're a vampire now," Emmett said, rolling his eyes. "Vampires don't _fumble_."

**I couldn't bear to look around at the reaction. If there had been any doubt as to who was driving this car before, it was gone now. With the toe of my shoe, I gently nudged the gas pedal down one half millimeter, and the car shot forward again.**

Many of the vampires around the room looked amused.

**I managed to reach my goal, the gas station. If I hadn't been running on vapors, I wouldn't have come into town at all. I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public.**

**Moving as if I were in a race, I got the hatch open, the cap off, the card scanned, and the nozzle in the tank within seconds. Of course, there was nothing I could do to make the numbers on the gauge pick up the pace. They ticked by sluggishly, almost as if they were doing it just to annoy me.**

**It wasn't bright out – a typical drizzly day in Forks, Washington – but I still felt like a spotlight was trained on me, drawing attention to the delicate ring on my left hand. At times like this, sensing the eyes on my back, it felt as if the ring were pulsing like a neon sign: **_**Look at me, look at me**_**.**

Renesmee pressed her hand against Bella's throat. _Does it matter what others think, Momma?_

"No, honey, it really doesn't." Bella told her daughter.

**It was stupid to be so self-conscious, and I knew that. Besides my dad and mom, did it really matter what people were saying about my engagement? About my new car? About my mysterious acceptance into an Ivy League college? About the shiny black credit card that felt red-hot in my back pocket right now?**

"People are_so _rude." Maggie commented.

"Hell yeah, they are." Jacob mumbled under his breath.

**"Yeah, who cares what they think," I muttered under my breath.**

**"Urn, miss?" a man's voice called.**

Edward stiffened, immediately thinking the worse.

**I turned, and then wished I hadn't.**

That statement didn't help Edward at all.

**Two men stood beside a fancy SUV with brand-new kayaks tied to the top. Neither of them was looking at me; they were both staring at the car.**

Hearing this sentence, Edward felt relaxed. He had nothing to worry about.

**Personally, I didn't get it. But then, I was just proud I could distinguish between the symbols for Toyota, Ford, and Chevy. This car was glossy black, sleek, and pretty, but it was still just a car to me.**

Jacob shook his head. "Oh my god, Bells." He groaned. "That's pathetic."

Bella shrugged her shoulders. It was true. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed her opinion on cars; that's exactly why she hardly ever drove her Ferrari, much to the horror of Jacob and Seth.

**"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell me what kind of car you're driving?" the tall one asked.**

**"Urn, a Mercedes, right?"**

Seth stopped reading to look at Bella, his expression mirroring Jacob's. "Bella…"

"Keep reading, Seth."

**"Yes," the man said politely while his shorter friend rolled his eyes at my answer. "I know. But I was wondering, is that... are you driving a Mercedes **_**Guardian**_**?" The man said the name with reverence. I had a feeling this guy would get along well with Edward Cullen, my... my fiancé (there really was no getting around that truth with the wedding just days away). "They aren't supposed to be available in Europe yet," the man went on, "let alone here."**

"No challenge for us." Rosalie said.

"Or any other vampires," Garrett added.

**While his eyes traced the contours of my car – it didn't look much different from any other Mercedes sedan to me, but what did I know? – I briefly contemplated my issues with words like **_**fiancé, wedding, husband,**_** etc.**

Tanya looked at Bella curiously. She was certainly interesting so far.

**I just couldn't put it together in my head.**

**On the one hand, I had been raised to cringe at the very thought of poofy white dresses and bouquets. But more than that, I just couldn't reconcile a staid, respectable, dull concept like **_**husband **_**with my concept of **_**Edward**_**. It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn't visualize him in any commonplace role.**

Edward lifted a hand to stroke Bella's cheek. "Being _your _husband isn't a commonplace role. It is so much more than that."

Bella smiled at Edward.

**Like always, as soon as I started thinking about Edward I was caught up in a dizzy spin of fantasies. The stranger had to clear his throat to get my attention; he was still waiting for an answer about the car's make and model.**

"What kind of fantasies?" Emmett asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Is it something like BD –?"

"_Emmett_!" Esme, Rosalie, and Bella shouted. Edward had growled.

Jacob, on the other hand, looked torn between whether he should be laughing or protecting Renesmee's already-large knowledge from that sort of information.

Garrett was snickering, and so were some of the others.

**"I don't know," I told him honestly.**

**"Do you mind if I take a picture with it?"**

**It took me a second to process that. "Really? You want to take a picture with the car?"**

**"Sure – nobody is going to believe me if I don't get proof."**

**"Urn. Okay. Fine."**

**I swiftly put away the nozzle and crept into the front seat to hide while the enthusiast dug a huge professional-looking camera out of his backpack. He and his friend took turns posing by the hood, and then they went to take pictures at the back end.**

**"I miss my truck," I whimpered to myself.**

"Your truck was a piece of shit," Rosalie mumbled so quietly that Renesmee wouldn't hear it, but everyone else could.

**Very, very convenient – too convenient – that my truck would wheeze its last wheeze just weeks after Edward and I had agreed to our lopsided compromise, one detail of which was that he be allowed to replace my truck when it passed on. Edward swore it was only to be expected; my truck had lived a long, full life and then expired of natural causes. According to him. And, of course, I had no way to verify his story or to try to raise my truck from the dead on my own. **

"You killed my truck, didn't you?" Bella turned an accusatory look on Edward.

"Guilty," Edward said, though he didn't look guilty at all.

"I knew it…"

**My favorite mechanic –**

**I stopped that thought cold, refusing to let it come to a conclusion.**

"Sorry, Bella." Jacob apologized. Now that his feelings for Bella were the way they were supposed to be – they were best friends, even siblings, nothing more – he had finally been able to understand the position he had put Bella in.

Bella shook her head. "I'm sorry, too, Jake."

**Instead, I listened to the men's voices outside, muted by the car walls.**

**"… went at it with a flamethrower in the online video. Didn't even pucker the paint."**

**"Of course not. You could roll a tank over this baby. Not much of a market for one over here. Designed for Middle East diplomats, arms dealers, and drug lords mostly."**

"Were you that much of a danger-magnetic." Kate questioned, looking at Bella.

"I wouldn't –" Bella began.

"Yes, she was." Both Edward and Jacob said at the same time, cutting Bella off.

Sarabella smiled a bit, speaking for the first time since they had started reading, "Wait till we read the other books."

Bella groaned.

**"Think **_**she's**_** something?" the short one asked in a softer voice. I ducked my head, cheeks flaming.**

**"Huh," the tall one said. "Maybe. Can't imagine what you'd need missile-proof glass and four thousand pounds of body armor for around here. Must be headed somewhere more hazardous."**

"Maybe you need it for running down a vampire, or perhaps a wolf." Emmett suggested.

Bella glared at Emmett.

**Body armor. **_**Four thousand pounds **_**of body armor. And **_**missile-proof**_** glass? Nice. What had happened to good old-fashioned bulletproof?**

"Sarabella has Mercedes Aegis; it is completely damage-proof. It's one of the best protection vehicles on the market in the future." E.J announced with a smirk. He gestured to Jacob and Edward. "Da – _Jacob _and _Edward _bought it for her." He had to catch himself from calling Jacob dad – he didn't want to freak him out – and from calling Edward grandpa.

Sarabella crossed her arms and huffed. "I won't be having it forever."

'_She looks cute when she does that…' _Seth thought suddenly, not really knowing where the thought came from. He felt a pull towards Sarabella – like he should've imprinted on her the moment he saw her, but he couldn't. Seth wondered if this was how Jacob felt when Bella was pregnant with Nessie.

"Hey! Seth! _Seth_!" Jacob's shouting snapped Seth out of his thoughts.

Seth looked blankly at Jacob. "What?"

Jacob gave Seth a questioning look and gestured to the book. "Read."

"Oh… Sorry," Seth said, looking down at the book. He continued reading…

**Well, at least this made some sense – if you had a twisted sense of humor.**

**It wasn't like I hadn't expected Edward to take advantage of our deal, to weight it on his side so that he could give so much more than he would receive.**

"Oh, Bella," Edward whispered, caressing Bella's cheek. "You gave me so much just by _living_."

"What lovely displays of affection," Garrett said before Belle could reply.

Kate – she was sitting on the armrest of Garrett's seat – smacked him on the shoulder.

**I'd agreed that he could replace my truck when it needed replacing, not expecting that moment to come quite so soon, of course. When I'd been forced to admit that the truck had become no more than a still-life tribute to classic Chevys on my curb, I knew his idea of a replacement was probably going to embarrass me.**

"That was not my idea." Edward commented absentmindedly.

**Make me the focus of stares and whispers. I'd been right about that part. But even in my darkest imaginings I had not foreseen that he would get me**_** two**_** cars.**

**The "before" car and the "after" car, he'd explained when I'd flipped out.**

**This was just the "before" car. He'd told me it was a loaner and promised that he was returning it after the wedding.**

"I'm thinking of getting an even better one in the future." Edward said, looking at his daughter.

'_If we live through the Volturi…' _Bella thought. Her eyes then wondered over to Sarabella and E.J… they were the ray of hope that the Cullens needed. If Jacob and Renesmee lived to have children… perhaps, they all lived. And even if the rest of them didn't, it was enough for Bella to know that her precious daughter – _her _Renesmee – would live to have children of her own.

**It all had made absolutely no sense to me. Until now.**

**Ha ha. Because I was so fragilely human, so accident-prone, so much a victim to my own dangerous bad luck, apparently I needed a tank-resistant car to keep me safe. Hilarious. I was sure he and his brothers had enjoyed the joke quite a bit behind my back.**

"Not Eddie and Jazz," Emmett said, grinning. "But I certainly did."

"Grow up, Em." Edward muttered.

Emmett's grin widened. "_Never_,"

**Or maybe, just maybe, a small voice whispered in my head, **_**it's not a joke**_**,**_** silly**_**.**_** Maybe he's really that worried about you**_**.**_** This wouldn't be the first time he's gone a little overboard trying to protect you**_**.**

"Overboard is downplaying…" Jacob said under his breath.

**I sighed.**

**I hadn't seen the "after" car yet. It was hidden under a sheet in the deepest corner of the Cullens' garage. I knew most people would have peeked by now, but I really didn't want to know.**

**Probably no body armor on that car – because I wouldn't need it after the honeymoon. Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards.**

"Yes… virtual indestructibility, speed and strength, amazing flexibility, unlimited senses, beauty beyond belief, and never aging," Rosalie said dully. "The _perks _of being a Cullen,"

If Bella had been a human, she would've flinched, but being a vampire allowed her to control her facial expressions better. Bella knew that Rosalie wasn't directing her harsh words at her, but just speaking them in general.

Maggie looked at Rosalie from her spot across the room. Though she didn't say anything, she understood what Rosalie was feeling. While she was glad that Siobhan had found and saved her, Maggie sometimes wished she didn't have to go on. She would always spend decades and decades being stuck as a delicate-looking, fifteen year old. Maggie had once dreamed that she would grow up, find someone she truly loved and would marry, then start a family of her own. However, Maggie was quite sure that her feelings weren't as strong as Rosalie's.

**"Hey," the tall man called, cupping his hands to the glass in an effort to peer in. "We're done now. Thanks a lot!"**

**"You're welcome," I called back, and then tensed as I started the engine and eased the pedal – ever so gently – down.**

**No matter how many times I drove down the familiar road home, I still couldn't make the rain-faded flyers fade into the background. Each one of them, stapled to telephone poles and taped to street signs, was like a fresh slap in the face. A well-deserved slap in the face.**

Jacob opened his mouth to say something, but Bella silenced him with a glare.

**My mind was sucked back into the thought I'd interrupted so immediately before. I couldn't avoid it on this road. Not with pictures of **_**my favourite mechanic **_**flashing past me at regular intervals.**

**My best friend. My Jacob.**

Renesmee was curious – she had always thought of Jacob as _hers_. She placed her hand on Bella's throat. _Momma…?_

Bella couldn't say anything. She simply kissed the top of Renesmee's head. _'I wonder what Renesmee will think of my relationship with Jacob?'_

**The HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? posters were not Jacob's father's idea. It had been **_**my **_**father, Charlie, who'd printed up the flyers and spread them all over town. And not just Forks, but Port Angeles and Sequim and Hoquiam and Aberdeen and every other town in the Olympic Peninsula. He'd made sure that all the police stations in the state of Washington had the same flyer hanging on the wall, too. His own station had a whole corkboard dedicated to finding Jacob. A corkboard that was mostly empty, much to his disappointment and frustration.**

**My dad was disappointed with more than the lack of response. He was most disappointed with Billy, Jacob's father – and Charlie's closest friend.**

**For Billy's not being more involved with the search for his sixteen-year-old "run-away." For Billy's refusing to put up flyers in La Push, the reservation on the coast that was Jacob's home. For his seeming resigned to Jacob's disappearance, as if there was nothing he could do. For his saying, "Jacob's grown up now. He'll come home if he wants to."**

Esme was frowning. She could only imagine how difficult it had probably been for Jacob's father.

Jacob pretended to look nonchalant, though he was actually feeling guilty for the hell he'd put his father through.

**And he was frustrated with me, for taking Billy's side. **

**I wouldn't put up posters, either. Because both Billy and I knew where Jacob was, roughly speaking, and we also knew that no one had seen this **_**boy**_**.**

**The flyers put the usual big, fat lump in my throat, the usual stinging tears in my eyes, and I was glad Edward was out hunting this Saturday. If Edward saw my reaction, it would only make him feel terrible, too.**

**Of course, there were drawbacks to it being Saturday. As I turned slowly and carefully onto my street, I could see my dad's police cruiser in the driveway of our home. He'd skipped fishing again today. Still sulking about the wedding.**

"He sulked _after_ the wedding." Jacob laughed.

"So did you." Embry said.

Jacob stopped laughing to glare at Embry. "Shut it,"

**So I wouldn't be able to use the phone inside. But I **_**had to**_** call...**

**I parked on the curb behind the Chevy sculpture and pulled out the cell phone Edward had given me for emergencies out of the glove department. I dialed, keeping my finger on the "end" button as the phone rang. Just in case.**

**"Hello?" Seth Clearwater answered, and I sighed in relief. **

Seth stopped reading for a moment, a grin spreading across his face.

**I was way too chicken to speak to his older sister, Leah. The phrase "bite my head off" was not entirely a figure of speech when it came to Leah.**

There was silence for a few minutes… and then suddenly all the shape-shifters burst into laughter.

"So true," Embry laughed.

"Spot on." Quil added.

Leah scowled. "All of you shut your mouths."

This only made all the shape-shifters laugh harder. After a few more minutes, the laughter died down and stopped.

"Sorry, Leah," Bella offered up an apology, though she knew it probably wouldn't matter.

"Don't bother." Leah muttered. She then turned her glare on Seth. "_Keep reading_."

**"Hey, Seth, it's Bella."**

**"Oh, hiya, Bella! How are you?"**

**Choked up. Desperate for reassurance. "Fine."**

**"Calling for an update?"**

**"You're psychic."**

**"Not hardly. I'm no Alice – **

The Cullens felt a sharp pang.

**you're just predictable," he joked. Among the Quileute pack down at La Push, only Seth was comfortable even mentioning the Cullens by name, let alone joking about things like my nearly omniscient sister-in-law-to-be.**

Both Stefan and Vladimir found it very strange that the Cullens and the _wolves _seemed to have a strong truce, especially taking into consideration their terrible odor.

**"I know I am." I hesitated for a minute. "How is he?"**

_Is this about my Jakie? _Renesmee asked, holding her mother's hand. Worry laced Renesmee's thoughts.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Everything is fine now. He _is _fine now." Bella reassured her daughter. She looked at Jacob, who was watching Renesmee. "Go over to Jake."

Renesmee leaped out of Bella's lap and headed over to Jacob, launching herself into his waiting arms. She immediately pressed her hand to his cheek. _Jake..?_

"I'm spectacular, Ness." Jacob told her. "No need to worry."

**Seth sighed. "Same as ever. He won't talk, though we know he hears us. He trying not to think **_**human**_**, you know. Just going with his instincts."**

**"Do you know where he is now?"**

**"Somewhere in northern Canada. I can't tell you which province. He doesn't pay much attention to state lines."**

**"Any hint that he might…"**

**"He's not coming home, Bella. Sorry."**

**I swallowed. "S'okay, Seth. I knew before I asked. I just can't help wishing."**

**"Yeah. We all feel the same way."**

"No we didn't." Leah muttered.

**"Thanks for putting up with me, Seth. I know the others must give you a hard time."**

**"They're not your hugest fans, " he agreed cheerfully. "Kind of lame, I think. Jacob made his choices, you made yours. Jake doesn't like their attitude about it. 'Course, he isn't super thrilled that you're checking up on him, either."**

"Sorry, Bella," Embry said, and Quil nodded his head in apology, too.

"It's fine." Bella told them. She was glad that she could have her old friends in her new life, and that was all.

**I gasped. "I thought he wasn't talking to you?"**

**"He can't hide everything from us, hard as he's trying."**

"And I did try _very_ hard."

**So Jacob knew I was worried. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Well, at least he knew I hadn't skipped off into the sunset and forgotten him completely. He might have imagined me capable of that.**

And that was_ exactly _what Jacob had thought.

**"I guess I'll see you at the... wedding," I said, forcing the word out through my teeth.**

**"Yeah, me and my mom will be there. It was cool of you to ask us."**

**I smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice. Though inviting the Clearwaters had been Edward's idea, I was glad he'd thought of it. Having Seth there would be nice – a link, however tenuous, to my missing best man. "It wouldn't be the same without you."**

**"Tell Edward I said hi, 'kay?"**

**"Sure thing."**

**I shook my head. The friendship that had sprung up between Edward and Seth was something that still boggled my mind. It was proof, though, that things didn't have to be this way. That vampires and werewolves could get along just fine, thank you very much, if they were of a mind to.**

The shape-shifters – aside from Jacob and Seth, of course – looked offended at the mere suggestion.

Seeing their expressions, both Sarabella and E.J rolled their eyes.

**Not everybody liked this idea.**

**"Ah," Seth said, his voice cracking up an octave. "Er, Leah's home."**

"Example A." Seth stopped reading to say.

Leah glared at Seth, though it didn't have much of an affect.

**"Oh! Bye!"**

Jacob was grinning.

**The phone went dead. I left it on the seat and prepared myself mentally to go inside the house, where Charlie would be waiting.**

**My poor dad had so much to deal with right now. Jacob-the-runaway was just **_**one **_**of the straws on his overburdened back. He was almost as worried about me, his barely-a-legal-adult daughter who was about to become a Mrs. in just a few days' time.**

**I walked slowly through the light rain, remembering the night we'd told him…**

Bella sighed. The moment had been embarrassing enough for her… she didn't want all these people to know about it.

**As the sound of Charlie's cruiser announced his return, the ring suddenly weighed a hundred pounds on my finger. I wanted to shove my left hand in a pocket, or maybe sit on it, but Edward's cool, firm grasp kept it front and center.**

**"Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember that you're not confessing to a murder here."**

"You might've well been with Charlie." Jacob grinned.

Bella glared at him.

**"Easy for you to say."**

**I listened to the ominous sound of my father's boots clomping up the sidewalk. The key rattled in the already open door. The sound reminded me of that part of the horror movie when the victim realizes she's forgotten to lock her deadbolt.**

**"Calm down, Bella," Edward whispered, listening to the acceleration of my heart.**

**The door slammed against the wall, and I flinched like I'd been Tasered.**

Jacob, Emmett – and several others – either looked on the verge of laughter or amusement.

**"Hey, Charlie," Edward called, entirely relaxed. **

**"No!" I protested under my breath.**

**"What?" Edward whispered back.**

**"Wait till he hangs his gun up!"**

Several people chuckled.

"I don't think a guns going to do much work on Eddie-boy, Bella." Emmett said, grinning.

"I know that. I wasn't worried about Edward being shot. I was worried for the mental sake of my Dad – I didn't think he'd take it very well when his bullet would ricochet right off Edward."

Emmett was now full-blowing laughing.

**Edward chuckled and ran his free hand through his tousled bronze hair.**

**Charlie came around the corner, still in his uniform, still armed, and tried not to make a face when he spied us sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he'd been putting forth a lot of effort to like Edward more. Of course, this revelation was sure to end that effort immediately.**

"He's just a little more tolerable of me now." Edward commented.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's because he can't handle how awesome I am."

"That is what _you _think." Edward muttered so quietly only vampire ears would hear.

**"Hey, kids. What's up?"**

**"We'd like to talk to you," Edward said, so serene. "We have some good news."**

"Serene… of course," Jacob shook his head.

"I knew what to expect." Edward said.

**Charlie's expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion in a second.**

**"Good news?" Charlie growled, looking straight at me.**

**"Have a seat, Dad."**

**He raised one eyebrow, stared at me for five seconds, then stomped to the recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight.**

**"Don't get worked up, Dad," I said after a moment of loaded silence. "Everything's okay."**

"Depending on how you look at it." Emmett said casually, as though he was talking about the everyday sports. "Edward only wants to _steal_ – and marry – his _only _daughter and then _take _away her _innocence_."

"Emmett!" Bella growled.

Rosalie smacked her husband on the back of the head.

Emmett shrugged his shoulders.

**Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word **_**okay**_**. He probably would have used something more like **_**wonderful**_** or **_**perfect **_**or **_**glorious**_**.**

"Yup." Emmett spoke again. "Eddie's going to have a _wonderful_, _perfect_, and _glorious _time robbing Bella of her –"

"_Emmett_!" Bella hissed.

**"Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you sweating bullets?"**

**"I'm not sweating," I lied.**

Edward shook his head. Bella's lying _had _been so pathetic when she was human… but that was also one of the _many _things he loved about her.

**I leaned away from his fierce scowl, cringing into Edward, and instinctively wiped the back of my right hand across my forehead to remove the evidence.**

**"You're pregnant!" Charlie exploded. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"**

"Not yet…"

"_Emmett_!"

**Though the question was clearly meant for me, he was glaring at Edward now, and I could have sworn I saw his hand twitch toward the gun.**

"He was more than considering shooting me." Edward said, sounding highly amused.

Bella would've gasped if she was human, but her vampire mind had quickly processed the new information, giving her no time to be shocked at all. "And you never told me?"

"It didn't believe it was necessary to worry you."

Bella let out a frustrated sigh, deciding not to say anything more. It was all over anyways.

Renesmee put her hand on Jacob's cheek. _Grandpa wanted to shoot Daddy?_

"It's okay, Ness." Jacob reassuringly patted Renesmee on the head. "Nothing to worry about."

**"No! Of course I'm not!" I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give me a bruise. **

E.J laughed. A laugh which sounded _similar _to Jacob's. "Sarabella –"

"Don't, E.J!" Sarabella cut her brother off with a pleading look. (Seth thought it was _very _adorable).

"- one time elbowed Gran- Edward and broke her elbow. It didn't heal right, so then Carlisle had to re-break her elbow so it could heal properly." E.J continued his story despite Sarabella's protests.

Sarabella crossed her arms. "It was an _accident_… I didn't realize that G- Edward was standing right beside me."

"D- Jacob kept her away from all vampires for about a _solid _week after that." E.J added.

"He wouldn't even let me leave my bedroom…" Sarabella muttered.

The Cullens and Jacob were laughing. Even some of the shape-shifters.

**I'd **_**told**_** Edward that people would immediately jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. **_**Love**_**. Right.)**

**Charlie's glower lightened a shade. It was usually pretty clear on my face when I was telling the truth, and he believed me now. "Oh. Sorry."**

**"Apology accepted."**

**There was a long pause. After a moment, I realized everyone was waiting for me to say something. I looked up at Edward, panic-stricken. There was no way I was going to get the words out.**

"I realized that, but I was still hoping you'd be able to do it." Edward told Bella.

"Sorry,"

"It is fine, love."

**He smiled at me and then squared his shoulders and turned to my father.**

**"Charlie, I realize that I've gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already said yes and I don't want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of asking you for her hand, I'm asking you for your blessing. We're getting married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own life, and – by some miracle – she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your blessing?"**

Esme smiled approvingly.

**He sounded so sure, so calm. For just an instant, listening to the absolute confidence in his voice, I experienced a rare moment of insight. I could see, fleetingly, the way the world looked to him. For the length of one heartbeat, this news made perfect sense. **

**And then I caught sight of the expression on Charlie's face, his eyes now locked on the ring.**

Emmett made an explosion gesture with his hands.

**I held my breath while his skin changed colors – fair to red, red to purple, purple to blue. I started to get up – I'm not sure what I planned to do; maybe use the Heimlich maneuver to make sure he wasn't choking – but Edward squeezed my hand and murmured "Give him a minute" so low that only I could hear. **

**The silence was much longer this time. Then, gradually, shade by shade, Charlie's color returned to normal. His lips pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed; I recognized his "deep in thought" expression. He studied the two of us for a long moment, and I felt Edward relax at my side.**

"What had he been thinking?" Bella curiously asked Edward.

"He was shocked at first, then angry and annoyed – and he considered shooting me again – and then he finally began to fully process what he'd been told. He realized that us marrying was going to be inevitable because he'd seen what me" – Edward flinched – "leaving would do to you."

Bella took Edward's hand in hers. "We came back to one another – and that's all that matters."

**"Guess I'm not that surprised," Charlie grumbled. "Knew I'd have to deal with something like this soon enough."**

**I exhaled.**

**"You sure about this?" Charlie demanded, glaring at me.**

**"I'm one hundred percent sure about Edward," I told him without missing a beat.**

"As I was with you," Edward murmured in Bella's ear.

**"Getting married, though? What's the rush?" He eyed me suspiciously again.**

**The rush was due to the fact that I was getting closer to nineteen every stinking day, while Edward stayed frozen in all his seventeen-year-old perfection, as he had for over ninety years. Not that this fact necessitated **_**marriage**_** in my book, but the wedding was required due to the delicate and tangled compromise Edward and I had made to finally get to this point, the brink of my transformation from mortal to immortal.**

"Compromise?" Jacob looked over at Bella and Edward.

"Keep reading," Bella ordered Seth, ignoring Jacob.

**These weren't things I could explain to Charlie.**

**"We're going away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie," Edward reminded him. "I'd like to do that, well, the right way. It's how I was raised." He shrugged.**

**He wasn't exaggerating; they'd been big on old-fashioned morals during World War I.**

"You lived through the time era of World War I?" Seth stopped reading to look at Edward. He knew that Edward was old, but he didn't know exactly how old.

Edward nodded his head. "World War I was a very frightening four years."

**Charlie's mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But what could he say? **_**I'd prefer you live in sin first?**_** He was a dad; his hands were tied.**

"He _almost_ did say that." Edward said.

**"Knew this was coming," he muttered to himself, frowning. Then, suddenly, his face went perfectly smooth and blank.**

**"Dad?" I asked anxiously. I glanced at Edward, but I couldn't read his face, either, as he watched Charlie.**

**"Ha!" Charlie exploded. I jumped in my seat. "Ha, ha, ha!"**

**I stared incredulously as Charlie doubled over in laughter; his whole body shook with it.**

**I looked at Edward for a translation, but Edward had his lips pressed tightly together, like he was trying to hold back laughter himself.**

"Your father's thoughts were very… funny." Edward informed Bella.

**"Okay, fine," Charlie choked out. "Get married." Another roll of laughter shook through him. "But..."**

**"But what?" I demanded.**

**"But **_**you**_** have to tell your mom! I'm not saying one word to Renée! That's all yours!" He busted into loud guffaws.**

**I paused with my hand on the doorknob, smiling. Sure, at the time, Charlie's words had terrified me. The ultimate doom: telling Renée. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies.**

Renesmee frowned at the last part. She didn't like hearing things like that.

**"Well, Bella," Renée had said after I'd choked and stuttered out the impossible words: **_**Mom, I'm marrying Edward**_**. "I'm a little miffed that you waited so long to tell me. Plane tickets only get more expensive. Oooh," she'd fretted. "Do you think Phil's cast will be off by then? It will spoil the pictures if he's not in a tux –"**

**"Back up a second, Mom." I'd gasped. "What do you mean, waited so long? I just got en-en . . ." – I'd been unable to force out the word **_**engaged**_** – "things settled, you know, today."**

Rosalie looked at the book. When she'd gotten engaged, she'd gone through town and _flaunted_ it. Something which Rosalie was now disgusted with herself for doing.

**"Today? Really? That**_** is**_** a surprise. I assumed ..."**

**"What did you assume? **_**When**_** did you assume?"**

Edward was smiling crookedly. "I like your mother, love."

"I know."

**"Well, when you came to visit me in April, it looked like things were pretty much sewn up, if you know what I mean. You're not very hard to read, sweetie. But I didn't say anything because I knew it wouldn't do any good. You're exactly like Charlie." She'd sighed, resigned. "Once you make up your mind, there is no reasoning with you. Of course, exactly like Charlie, you stick by your decisions, too."**

**And then she'd said the last thing that I'd ever expected to hear from my mother.**

**"You're not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like you're scared silly, and I'm guessing it's because you're afraid of me." She'd giggled. "Of what I'm going to think. And I know I've said a lot of things about marriage and stupidity – and I'm not taking them back – but you need to realize that those things specifically applied to me. You're a completely different person than I am. You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I'm sure you'll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know." Renée had laughed again. "My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old soul."**

"Literally."

**"You're not... mad? You don't think I'm making a humongous mistake?"**

**"Well, sure, I wish you'd wait a few more years. I mean, do I look old enough to be a mother-in-law to you? Don't answer that. But this isn't about me. This is about you. Are you happy?"**

**"I don't know. I'm having an out-of-body experience right now."**

**Renée had chuckled. "Does he make you happy, Bella?"**

**"Yes, but –"**

**"Are you ever going to want anyone else?"**

**"No, but –"**

**"But what?"**

**"But aren't you going to say that I sound like exactly like every other infatuated teenager since the dawn of time?"**

"You were hardly "every other infatuated teenager", Bells." Jacob rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Thanks, Jake." Bella said, more than glad that she and Jake could talk normally.

**"You've never been a teenager, sweetie. You know what's best for you."**

**For the last few weeks, Renée had unexpectedly immersed herself in wedding plans. She'd spent hours every day on the phone with Edward's mother, Esme – no worries about the in-laws getting along. Renée **_**adored **_**Esme, but then, I doubted anyone could help responding that way to my lovable almost mother-in-law.**

"Thank you, Bella." Esme smiled wonderfully.

Bella returned the smile.

Leah crossed her arms, scowling. It had been hard to resist Esme's lovely charms… even for her.

**It let me right off the hook. Edward's family and my family were taking care of the nuptials together without my having to do or know or think too hard about any of it. **

**Charlie was furious, of course, but the sweet part was that he wasn't furious at **_**me**_**. What could he do now, when his ultimate threat – telling Mom – had turned out to be utterly empty? He had nothing, and he knew it. So he moped around the house, muttering things about not be able trust anyone in this world...**

**"Dad?" I called as I pushed open the front door. "I'm home."**

**"Hold on, Bells, stay right there."**

**"Huh?" I asked, pausing automatically.**

**"Gimme a second. Ouch, you got me, Alice."**

**Alice?**

That sharp pang returned.

**"Sorry, Charlie," Alice's trilling voice responded. "How's that?"**

**"I'm bleeding on it."**

**"You're fine. Didn't break the skin – trust me."**

"Bloodsucker _would_ know," Paul muttered.

The vampires ignored him.

**"What's going on?" I demanded, hesitating in the doorway.**

**"Thirty seconds, please, Bella," Alice told me. "Your patience will be rewarded."**

**"Humph," Charlie added.**

**I tapped my foot, counting each beat. Before I got to thirty, Alice said, "Okay, Bella, come in!"**

**Moving with caution, I rounded the little corner into our living room.**

**"Oh," I huffed. "Aw. Dad. Don't you look –" **

**"Silly?" Charlie interrupted.**

**"I was thinking more like **_**debonair**_**."**

_What does that mean, Jakie? _Renesmee asked, her hand resting lightly in Jacob's cheek.

"It means courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm." Edward answered Renesmee's question.

"_My _Jacob is _debonair_." Renesmee spoke flawlessly.

Rosalie snorted. "_As if_."

**Charlie blushed. Alice took his elbow and tugged him around into a slow spin to showcase the pale gray tux.**

**"Now cut that out, Alice. I look like an idiot."**

"_Never_ say that to Alice." Edward shook his head.

**"No one dressed by me ever looks like an idiot."**

**"She's right, Dad. You look fabulous! What's the occasion?"**

**Alice rolled her eyes. "It's the final check on the fit. For both of you."**

**I peeled my gaze off the unusually elegant Charlie for the first time and saw the dreaded white garment bag laid carefully across the sofa.**

**"Aaah."**

**"Go to your happy place, Bella. It won't take long."**

"I hope I'm your happy place." Edward murmured, stroking Bella's check.

"Of course."

Emmett made gagging sounds, but he was ignored.

**I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Keeping them shut, I stumbled my way up the stairs to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and held my arms straight out.**

'_How embarrassing…' _Bella thought.

**"You'd think I was shoving bamboo splinters under your nails," Alice muttered to herself as she followed me in.**

The Cullens chuckled.

**I paid no attention to her. I was in my happy place.**

**In my happy place, the whole wedding mess was over and done. Already repressed and forgotten.**

**We were alone, just Edward and me. The setting was fuzzy and constantly in flux – it morphed from misty forest to cloud-covered city to arctic night – because Edward was keeping the location of our honeymoon a secret surprise to me. But I wasn't especially concerned about the **_**where **_**part.**

**Edward and I were together, and I'd fulfilled my side of our compromise perfectly. I'd married him. That was the big one. But I'd also accepted all his outrageous gifts and was registered, however futilely, to attend Dartmouth College in the fall. Now it was his turn.**

Bella nearly groaned. _No_.

**Before he turned me into a vampire – his big compromise – he had one other stipulation to make good on.**

**Edward had an obsessive sort of concern over the human things that I would be giving up, the experiences he didn't want me to miss. Most of them – like the prom, for example – seemed silly to me. There was only one human experience I worried about missing. Of course it would be the one he wished I would forget completely.**

Emmett waggled his eyebrows.

**Here was the thing, though. I knew a little about what I was going to be like when I wasn't human anymore. I'd seen newborn vampires firsthand, and I'd heard all my family-to-be's stories about those wild early days.**

This sent many of the vampires into the memories of _their _wild newborn years. How uncontrolled they'd been, how _delicious _the blood had tasted.

**Human... and passionately in love.**

"_More _than passionately,"

**I wanted the complete experience before I traded in my warm, breakable, pheromone-riddled body for something beautiful, strong... and unknown. I wanted a **_**real **_**honeymoon with Edward. And, despite the danger he feared this would put me in, he'd agreed to try.**

Alistair – who had been moody and silent – looked at Edward.

"I _knew _that." Edward growled.

Bella was about to ask Edward what he'd just read from Alistair's mind, but Edward gestured to Seth to continue reading.

**I was only vaguely aware of Alice and the slip and slide of satin over my skin. I didn't care, for the moment, that the whole town was talking about me. I didn't think about the spectacle I would have to star in much too soon. I didn't worry about tripping on my train or giggling at the wrong moment or being too young or the staring audience or even the empty seat where my best friend should be.**

**I was with Edward in my happy place.**

"That's the end of the chapter." Seth announced. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled.

Esme smiled. "How about we read another chapter and then I'll make some lunch."

The shape-shifters looked disgusted at the thought of eating a bloodsuckers cooking, but Seth looked ecstatic. "Your cooking is the best, Mrs. Cullen." He said.

"Call me Esme, Seth. And thank you."

"Who is reading the next chapter?" E.J asked everyone. His sister was too busy staring at Seth.

Maggie stood. "I will." She volunteered, walking gracefully across the room to Seth. Once she had the book, she returned back to her seat.

As Maggie had walked across the room, Vladimir's eyes had followed her every movement.

Maggie immediately began reading…

**~T~**

**FINISHED! Finally! Took me forever! But I had fun writing it!**

**I hope you all liked it!**

**I'm thinking of pairing Vladimir and Maggie together. Weird pairing, but hey… I thought it would be slightly interesting.**

**Also, sorry for any grammar mistakes!**

**Anyways, please review!**


	3. Long Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight**

**I'm just wondering… has anyone ever watched the slightly cheesy, British show **_**Young Dracula**_**? I just **_**love **_**it! It's pretty funny.**

**Anyways, thank you for the amazing reviews!**

**Now… here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

_Emphasis/Renesmee's gift_

**Text from books**

**~T~**

"**Long Night**," Maggie read.

**"I miss you already."**

**"I don't need to leave. I can stay..."**

"As if we would've let you," Emmett scoffed.

**"Mmm."**

**It was quiet for a long moment, just the thud of my heart hammering, the broken rhythm of our ragged breathing, and the whisper of our lips moving in synchronization.**

**Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I was kissing a vampire.**

"I don't need to hear this." Leah muttered under her breath.

**Not because he seemed ordinary or human – I could never for a second forget that I was holding someone more angel than man in my arms – but because he made it seem like nothing at all to have his lips against my lips, my face, my throat.**

"It was _almost _nothing, love." Edward said to Bella.

Bella nodded, looking over to Renesmee. "I understand,"

**He claimed he was long past the temptation my blood used to be for him, that the idea of losing me had cured him of any desire for it.**

"How did that work?" Seth asked curiously.

"I'm not quite sure myself." Edward admitted. "The thought of losing Bella – of never having her in my arms again – made everything pale in comparison. The scent of her blood hardly seemed to matter to me anymore, especially when the threat of losing Bella had come crashing down on me."

Seth nodded his head.

"Charlie's blood isn't as… _appetizing_… when I think about the consequences of letting my bloodlust take over. I love Charlie and I don't ever want to hurt him." Bella added in. It was also – partially – why she wasn't bloodthirsty around Renesmee.

Edward looked over at Carlisle, saying, "I think you're right."

"What did he think?" Tanya asked. She was finding this conversation interesting.

"He thinks that our bloodlust is easier to control around a human if it is someone who we care about and don't want to see hurt." Edward said.

"Sounds true," Kate said.

**But I knew the smell of my blood still caused him pain – still burned his throat like he was inhaling flames.**

"Was she your la tua cantante?" Garret looked at Edward. He was grinning. "Mine was _very _delicious."

Renesmee was extremely curious. _What is a… la tua cantante? _She asked Jacob, touching his hand.

"La tua cantante translates into "_your singer_", though it is usually shortened to "_singer_". It is an Italian expression for a human whose blood particularly appeals to a certain vampire in an extreme sense." Edward explained, and he took Bella's hand in his. "Bella was my _singer _when she was human. She was like my –"

"- own personal brand of heroin," Bella finished for Edward.

"_Disgusting_," Paul muttered.

**I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner.**

"Oh, Bella –" Edward began.

Emmett looked at Maggie. "_Do not_ stop reading."

Both Edward and Bella glared at Emmett.

**Our gazes locked for a moment; his golden eyes were so deep that I imagined I could see all the way into his soul. It seemed silly that this fact – the existence of his soul – had ever been in question, even if he **_**was **_**a vampire. He had the most beautiful soul, more beautiful than his brilliant mind or his incomparable face or his glorious body.**

Many of the shape-shifters rolled their eyes.

**He looked back at me as if he could see my soul, too, and as if he liked what he saw.**

"I did like what I saw." Edward whispered in Bella's ear. "I still do."

**He couldn't see into my mind, though, the way he saw into everyone else's. Who knew why – some strange glitch in my brain that made it immune to all the extraordinary and frightening things some immortals could do.**

Edward shook his head. The answer had been so simple – all along – and he hadn't figured it out.

**(Only my mind was immune; my body was still subject to vampires with abilities that worked in ways other than Edward's.) **

"I've yet to meet a vampire who can actually shield themselves from vampires with abilities that work on the body." Eleazar commented.

"What about that vampire chick you were talking about… What as her name? Renise? Renetta?" Jacob said.

"Ah, you mean Renata." Eleazar said, and Jacob nodded his head. "No. Renata can only shield herself and others to repel physical attacks and confuse the attacker."

Edward added, "Abilities like Jasper's and Maggie's would still work on Renata."

Jacob nodded his head.

"Umm… what are you talking about?" Rachel – Jacob's sister – spoke, looking at the vampires curiously. Beside her, Paul looked annoyed that she'd even bothered to ask a question.

"When a human is transformed into a vampire, his or her strongest trait is brought into his or her new life. When someone has a particularly intense skill or characteristic, it heightens after their transformation. Some of these characteristics become a supernatural power of some sort. Also, the more pronounced it was in human form, the stronger it becomes in vampire form." Eleazar explained.

"How many of you leeches have gifts?" Jared asked. Or more like demanded. Though he didn't like it, he and the other shape-shifters were curious. They may have fought alongside the bloodsuckers against the newborn army, but they still really didn't know anything about them and their… powers.

"I have ability identification; I am able to sense whether or not a human or vampire has an extra gift and identify its type and strength." Eleazar said.

"I can read minds, as you already know." Edward said. "When I was human, I was very good at reading people."

"My ability is lie detection. As a human, I always knew when a person was lying with their words." Maggie told the humans and shape-shifters.

Kate smiled, holding up her hands and wiggling her fingers. "I can project a painful electric-like jolt into another person through physical contact." She said. "My ability manifested from my desire to protect what I cherished when I was human, due to my sense of loyalty."

"I am able to make people see what I want them to see." Zafrina spoke.

"My _ability _is that I can affect the outcome of a situation through willpower." Siobhan said. Her tone of voice clearly stated that she didn't believe it was a real ability.

"Jasper has the ability to sense and change the emotions of people around him; he was very charismatic as a human. And Alice can see the future, though her visions are subjective. Also, Alice can only see humans and vampires. She cannot see the wolves and Renesmee." Edward explained the gifts of the two absent members of the Cullen family.

"E.J and I have abilities, too." Sarabella said. "My ability is, basically, fear manipulation. Anything to do with fear… I can control it." She then shuddered slightly. Her own gift frightened her… and she didn't like using it.

"I can control and manipulate your senses." E.J told everyone. "My ability is similar to Alec's… though mine does a little bit more than his."

Stefan looked from Sarabella to E.J. "Their abilities are just as dangerous as the witch twins." He said quietly to Vladimir, knowing quite well that everyone could hear him.

**But I was seriously grateful to whatever malfunction it was that kept my thoughts a secret. It was just too embarrassing to consider the alternative.**

'_Like now,' _Bella thought.

**I pulled his face to mine again.**

**"Definitely staying," he murmured a moment later.**

**"No, no. It's your bachelor party. You have to go."**

**I said the words, but the fingers of my right hand locked into his bronze hair, my left pressed tighter against the small of his back. His cool hands stroked my face.**

**"Bachelor parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn't be more eager to have mine behind me. So there's really no point."**

"I wish I hadn't let you go." Bella told Edward.

"And I wish I hadn't gone."

**"True." I breathed against the winter-cold skin of his throat.**

**This was pretty close to my happy place. Charlie slept obliviously in his room, which was almost as good as being alone. We were curled up on my small bed, intertwined as much as it was possible, considering the thick afghan I was swathed in like a cocoon. I hated the necessity of the blanket, but it sort of ruined the romance when my teeth started chattering. Charlie would notice if I turned the heat on in August...**

**At least, if **_**I **_**had to be bundled up, Edward's shirt was on the floor.**

Bella sighed. This was just _so _embarrassing. She was just glad she couldn't blush anymore.

**I never got over the shock of how perfect his body was – white, cool, and polished as marble. I ran my hand down his stone chest now, tracing across the flat planes of his stomach, just marveling.**

Leah snorted.

**A light shudder rippled through him, and his mouth found mine again. Carefully, I let the tip of my tongue press against his glass-smooth lip, and he sighed.**

Quil covered Claire's ears – she was sitting on his lap, looking just about ready to fall asleep.

Jacob, however, didn't bother covering Nessie's ears. She was already just as intelligent as most adults, so there would honestly be no point.

**His sweet breath washed – cold and delicious – over my face.**

**He started to pull away – that was his automatic response whenever he decided things had gone too far, his reflex reaction whenever he wanted to keep going.**

"Bloodsucker can't control his thirst…" Paul said so quietly under his breath none of the humans would hear.

Of course, all the vampires just ignored him. Though Edward did twitch slightly in annoyance, however, it wasn't anything noticeable by shape-shifter eyes.

**Edward had spent most of his life rejecting any kind of physical gratification. I knew it was terrifying to him trying to change those habits now.**

"I would change anything for you, love." Edward told Bella.

Bella smiled. "You're _perfect _the way you are."

**"Wait," I said, gripping his shoulders and hugging myself close to him. I kicked one leg free and wrapped it around his waist. "Practice makes perfect."**

"Oh, please." Leah grumbled, crossing her arms.

**He chuckled. "Well, we should be fairly close to perfection by this point, then, shouldn't we? Have you slept at all in the last month?"**

**"But this is the dress rehearsal," I reminded him, "and we've only practiced certain scenes. It's no time for playing safe."**

"Feeling a little horny, Bella?" Emmett grinned.

Bella moaned. "Shut up, Em." She gestured to Renesmee and Claire. "There are _children _here."

**I thought he would laugh, but he didn't answer, and his body was motionless with sudden stress. The gold in his eyes seemed to harden from a liquid to a solid.**

**I thought over my words, realized what he would have heard in them.**

**"Bella...," he whispered.**

**"Don't start this again," I said. "A deal's a deal."**

**"I don't know. It's too hard to concentrate when you're with me like this. I – I can't think straight. I won't be able to control myself. You'll get hurt."**

Edward's head snapped up and he looked at Billy. He looked torn between glaring and nodding his head in agreement.

**"I'll be fine."**

'_Yeah… sure…' _Leah thought.

**"Bella..."**

**"Shh!" I pressed my lips to his to stop his panic attack. I'd heard it before. He wasn't getting out of this deal. Not after insisting I marry him first.**

**He kissed me back for a moment, but I could tell he wasn't as into it as before. Worrying, always worrying. How different it would be when he didn't need to worry about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He'd have to get a new hobby.**

"I still worry about you all the time." Edward smiled crookedly at Bella. "I _always _will."

**"How are your feet?" he asked.**

**Knowing he didn't mean that literally, I answered, "Toasty warm."**

**"Really? No second thoughts? It's not too late to change your mind."**

**"Are you trying to ditch me?"**

**He chuckled. "Just making sure. I don't want you to do anything you're not sure about."**

**"I'm sure about you. The rest I can live through."**

**He hesitated, and I wondered if I'd put my foot in my mouth again.**

**"Can you?" he asked quietly. "I don't mean the wedding – which I am positive you will survive despite your qualms – but afterward... what about Renée, what about Charlie?"**

Bella couldn't help but smile. Even though she had originally been angry with Jacob for telling Charlie about the wolves, and how she had to change to get better, she was happy – _extremely happy _– to still have Charlie in her life.

As for Renée… well, she just wasn't cut out for this sort of life.

**I sighed. "I'll miss them." Worse, that they would miss me, but I didn't want to give him any fuel.**

**"Angela and Ben and Jessica and Mike."**

**"I'll miss my friends, too." I smiled in the darkness. "Especially Mike. Oh, Mike! How will I go on?"**

**He growled.**

"His thoughts about you, Bella…" Edward said, sounding annoyed, "were worse than Jacob's."

Bella looked over to Jacob, her eyes widening slightly.

"Hey… don't look at me like that." Jacob held up his hands.

"It's over. It doesn't matter." Bella shook her head.

Throughout their little talk, Renesmee had looked back and forth between her parents and her Jacob. She was curious…

**I laughed but then was serious. "Edward, we've been through this and through this. I know it will be hard, but this is what I want. I want you, and I want you forever. One lifetime is simply not enough for me."**

Billy could tell – already – that Bella _truly _loved Edward. And he loved her. But that still wouldn't change Billy's opinion of the Cullens.

Edward grinned a little from across the room, having read Billy's thoughts.

**"Frozen forever at eighteen," he whispered.**

**"Every woman's dream come true," I teased. **

Rosalie's expression was angry-looking.

**"Never changing... never moving forward."**

**"What does that mean?"**

**He answered slowly. "Do you remember when we told Charlie we were getting married? And he thought you were... pregnant?"**

This time Rosalie winced. She knew where Edward was going with this.

Emmett put his arm around Rosalie.

**"And he thought about shooting you," I guessed with a laugh. "Admit it – for one second, he honestly considered it."**

**He didn't answer.**

**"What, Edward?"**

**"I just wish... well, I wish that he'd been right."**

Back then, if Edward had even known – even just a little – that it was possible for Bella to get pregnant, and how much agonizing pain it would cause her, he wouldn't have ever said that. However, Edward couldn't deny that Renesmee was worth everything they went through.

**"Gah," I gasped.**

Bella gave Rosalie – as well as Esme – an apologetic look.

**"More that there was some way he **_**could**_** have been. That we had that kind of potential. I **_**hate **_**taking that away from you, too."**

Leah was annoyed. She hated that she could _relate_ to what they were talking about.

**It took me a minute. "I know what I'm doing."**

**"How could you know that, Bella? Look at my mother, look at my sister. It's not as easy a sacrifice as you imagine."**

"It's not an easy sacrifice." Esme agreed, looking around at Bella, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and Renesmee, while keeping Alice and Jasper in her mind. She even looked at Jacob, who was now just as much a part of the family as the rest. "But I get to be a mother through you all, and for that, I am _extremely _happy."

Renesmee smiled and hopped off Jacob's lap. She headed across the room to Esme and jumped onto her lap, placing her hand on Esme's cheek, smiling brilliantly. _I love you, Grandma_.

"I love you as well, Renesmee."

Carlisle wrapped his arm around Esme and Renesmee.

**"Esme and Rosalie get by just fine. If it's a problem later, we can do what Esme did – we'll adopt."**

Rosalie looked at Emmett. "That's what I want to do." She told her husband. Yes, it was true she got to be surrogate mother – of the sort – to Renesmee, but she'd never actually be her mother.

Emmett nodded his head. He and Rosalie would talk about it later.

**He sighed, and then his voice was fierce. "It's not **_**right**_**! I don't want you to have to make sacrifices for me. I want to give you things, not take things away from you. I don't want to steal your future. If I were human –"**

"I wouldn't have you then." Bella said, kissing Edward's cheek.

**I put my hand over his lips. "**_**You**_** are my future. Now stop. No moping, or I'm calling your brothers to come and get you. Maybe you **_**need**_** a bachelor party."**

**"I'm sorry. I am moping, aren't I? Must be the nerves." **

**"Are **_**your**_** feet cold?"**

**"Not in that sense. I've been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. The wedding ceremony is the one thing I can't wait – " He broke off mid-thought. "Oh, for the love of all that's holy!"**

**"What's wrong?"**

**He gritted his teeth. "You don't have to call my brothers. Apparently Emmett and Jasper are not going to let me bow out tonight."**

Emmett grinned. "Like I said earlier, as if we would've let you skip you bachelor party."

**I clutched him closer for one second and then released him. I didn't have a prayer of winning a tug-of-war with Emmett. "Have fun."**

"No," Bella shrugged her shoulders. "But I did win an arm wrestling match with you, Emmett."

"Just you wait till your newborn strength is gone." Emmett glared at Bella.

**There was a squeal against the window – someone deliberately scraping their steel nails across the glass to make a horrible, cover-your-ears, goose-bumps-down-your-spine noise. I shuddered.**

**"If you don't send Edward out," Emmett – still invisible in the night – hissed menacingly, "we're coming in after him!"**

**"Go," I laughed. "**_**Before**_** they break my house."**

"And we probably would've." Emmett said casually.

**Edward rolled his eyes, but he got to his feet in one fluid movement and had his shirt back on in another. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.**

Brady and Collin were grinning. Even if vampires were their enemies, they both thought it was so cool that they were _so _fast.

**"Get to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."**

**"Thanks! That's sure to help me wind down."**

**"I'll meet you at the altar."**

**"I'll be the one in white." I smiled at how perfectly blasé I sounded.**

**He chuckled, said, "Very convincing," and then suddenly sank into a crouch, his muscles coiled like a spring. He vanished – launching himself out my window too swiftly for my eyes to follow.**

Bella grinned a little. She liked jumping out windows… and over rivers.

**Outside, there was a muted thud, and I heard Emmett curse.**

"Eddie hit me," Emmett said, glaring at Edward.

Edward just shrugged.

**"You'd better not make him late," I murmured, knowing they could hear.**

**And then Jaspers face was peering in my window, his honey hair silver in the weak moonlight that worked through the clouds.**

**"Don't worry, Bella. We'll get him home in plenty of time."**

**I was suddenly very calm, and my qualms all seemed unimportant. Jasper was, in his own way, just as talented as Alice with her uncannily accurate predictions. Jasper's medium was moods rather than the future, and it was impossible to resist feeling the way he wanted you to feel.**

"A very useful gift." Peter spoke, remembering how Jasper had used it with the Maria's newborn army.

**I sat up awkwardly, still tangled in my blanket. "Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You're not taking him to a strip club, are you?"**

**"Don't tell her anything!" Emmett growled from below. There was another thud, and Edward laughed quietly**

**"Relax," Jasper told me – and I did. "We Cullens have our own version. Just a few mountain lions, a couple of grizzly bears. Pretty much an ordinary night out."**

"Is it really?" Bella asked, eyeing both Edward and Emmett.

"We're _not _telling." Emmett said stubbornly.

**I wondered if I would ever be able to sound so cavalier about the "vegetarian" vampire diet.**

**"Thanks, Jasper."**

**He winked and dropped from sight.**

**It was completely silent outside. Charlie's muffled snores droned through the walls.**

**I lay back against my pillow, sleepy now. I stared at the walls of my little room, bleached pale in the moonlight, from under heavy lids.**

**My last night in my room. My last night as Isabella Swan. Tomorrow night, I would be Bella Cullen. Though the whole marriage ordeal was a thorn in my side, I had to admit that I liked the sound of that.**

"I _loved _the sound of that." Edward was once again smiling at Bella.

**I let my mind wander idly for a moment, expecting sleep to take me. But, after a few minutes, I found myself more alert, anxiety creeping back into my stomach, twisting it into uncomfortable positions. The bed seemed too soft, too warm without Edward in it. Jasper was far away, and all the peaceful, relaxed feelings were gone with him.**

"How long is Jasper's range on his ability?" Eleazar asked curiously.

"A few miles' range, like my gift." Edward told Eleazar.

**It was going to be a very long day tomorrow.**

'_A long day that was worth it,'_ Bella thought.

**I was aware that most of my fears were stupid – I just had to get over myself. Attention was an inevitable part of life. I couldn't always blend in with the scenery.**

"You've _never _just blended in with the scenery." Edward whispered.

"That's just what –" Bella began, but she didn't get to finish.

"You were – and are – radiant."

**However, I did have a few specific worries that were completely valid.**

**First there was the wedding dress's train. Alice clearly had let her artistic sense overpower practicalities on that one. Maneuvering the Cullens' staircase in heels and a train sounded impossible. I should have practiced.**

**Then there was the guest list.**

Bella sighed. She may've dimly remembered her thoughts the night before her wedding, but she knew what was coming.

**Tanya's family, the Denali clan, would be arriving sometime before the ceremony.**

**It would be touchy to have Tanya's family in the same room with our guests from the Quileute reservation, Jacob's father and the Clearwaters. The Denalis were no fans of the werewolves.**

And the wolves and Billy were no fans of the Denalis… well, excluding Jacob and Seth – they both seemed to get along with the Denalis fine, now. But that wasn't the case for the rest of the wolves and the Denalis.

**In fact, Tanya's sister Irina was not coming to the wedding at all.**

The Denalis winced at the mention of Irina.

**She still nursed a vendetta against the werewolves for killing her friend Laurent (just as he was about to kill me).**

"That parasite got what he deserved." Paul growled, not even thinking of the consequences. "And so will his blonde girlfriend."

Tanya and Kate narrowed their eyes. Paul had just threatened Irina – something they couldn't accept. And as for Laurent… he may've tried to harm Bella, but he had still be a part of the Denali coven. It was also the wolves' fault that Irina had become so depressed and angry.

"Shut your mouth, fleabag." Rosalie hissed at Paul.

"Don't tell me what to do, bloodsucker." Paul glared at Rosalie, getting to his feet and taking a step towards her. He was beginning to shake.

Emmett was standing in a crouch in front of Rosalie in less than a second. He growled at Paul.

Esme took Renesmee in her arms and moved across the room, away from where Paul was shaking. Quil handed Claire over to Sue and she – along with Emily and Kim – moved away from Paul, too. Billy and Rachel both refused to move with them.

And Seth, on impulse, moved across the room to stand in front of Sarabella. He stood there protectively, ready to defend her if necessary.

"How dare you _threaten _Irina, mongrel." Tanya snarled, leaning forward. Her curly, strawberry-blonde hair bounced slightly as she moved.

"I'll –" Paul started to speak.

Rachel put her hand on Paul's shaking shoulder. "Paul, calm down."

Paul shook Rachel's hand off his shoulder and moved away from her. He didn't want to hurt her – and he didn't think he stood any chance of calming down. He looked over at Sam.

"Jared, Embry – take Paul outside." Sam ordered.

Both Jared and Embry immediately began hauling Paul out of the room. The sound of the front door opening and their footsteps going down the porch could be heard, and then the sound of Paul's clothes ripping as he phased. Everyone listened as he took off running into the forest surrounding the Cullens' residence.

A few seconds later, Jared and Embry returned to the room.

Carlisle looked around the room at everyone. "I think it would be best if we took a break for lunch…"

No one disagreed.

**~T~**

Esme had made a delicious lunch – creamy chicken soup, fresh rolls of bread, chicken wraps, and some healthy salad with an amazing, homemade salad dressing – and set it all out on the dining room table for Sarabella, E.J, Renesmee, the shape-shifters, and the humans to eat. She'd even made some chocolate chip cookies for dessert; the kind that just melted in your mouth.

Billy and the shape-shifters were reluctant to eat the food, especially after what had just happened with Paul. However, after watching Sarabella, E.J, Renesmee, Jacob, Seth, and the imprintees – much to the annoyance and worry of the wolves – start eating and enjoying the food, they all eventually caved in and started eating, too.

The vampires all remained within the living room, having conversations so quiet that the shape-shifters wouldn't be able to hear it

"That _whelp_." Rosalie hissed angrily.

"_Rose_." Esme said. "They _are _our guests."

"Esme –"

Edward shook his head. "There will most likely be more fights like this. The wolves – mostly Jared and Paul – do not want to be here."

Bella sighed sadly. She had thought after Renesmee's birth – and Jacob imprinting on her – that the relationship between the wolves and the Cullens had improved. But old habits die hard, after all.

"You can't teach an old _dog _new tricks." Rosalie muttered.

Esme was now giving Rosalie a stern look.

"What does it matter – they're just a bunch of mutts." Randall commented. He only tolerated the wolves because he liked the Cullens.

"And they are our allies." Carlisle spoke calmly, always trying to be the voice of reason. "The wolves have come to our aid before."

"That was still not nice of them." Maggie said, looking around at everyone, her eyes lingering on Vladimir. She was holding the book in her hands.

"They're wolves. _Just children_." Kate said. She was sitting on Garrett's lap, leaning against him.

Carmen leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder. She and Eleazar stood behind Garrett and Kate's armchair.

"They seem very unpredictable with their anger." Peter mused. The way he talked almost sounded like Jasper. "Almost like a newborn."

Edward nodded his head. "Yes, they can be like that. Especially after they first change."

The conversation immediately ended when Sarabella and E.J came into the living room. Following behind them was Seth and Jacob, who was holding Renesmee in his arms.

Renesmee reached for Edward and so Jacob handed her over to him. Edward sat back down with Renesmee sitting perfectly balanced on his knee.

"Are the others done?" Esme asked kindly.

"Almost. Just give them few." Jacob said.

Esme nodded her head.

With that little exchange done, the living room became silent, aside from the normal beating of Seth and Jacob's hearts and the abnormal beating of Renesmee, Sarabella, and E.J's.

** ~T~**

When everyone had finished eating and Esme had cleaned up the mess, everyone returned to their spots and sat down. Paul had still not returned, but everyone knew he probably wouldn't be back for about a chapter or two.

Maggie opened the book and started reading again…

**Thanks to that grudge, the Denalis had abandoned Edward's family in their worst hour of need.**

Tanya gave Carlisle an apologetic look.

**It had been the unlikely alliance with the Quileute wolves that had saved all our lives when the horde of newborn vampires had attacked…**

As much as the wolves wanted to gloat – well, mostly Jared, Embry, and Quil – they refrained from doing so.

**Edward had promised me it wouldn't be dangerous to have the Denalis near the Quileutes. Tanya and all her family – besides Irina – felt horribly guilty for that defection. A truce with the werewolves was a small price to make up some of that debt, a price they were prepared to pay.**

The Denalis had no problem making a truce with the werewolves – but _no one _threatened their family.

**That was the big problem, but there was a small problem, too: my fragile self-esteem.**

Tanya looked at Bella, immediately realizing what was meant, and said, "You are beautiful, Bella. Even when you were human."

"Thanks…" Bella said, feeling surprised.

**I'd never seen Tanya before, but I was sure that meeting her wouldn't be a pleasant experience for my ego. Once upon a time, before I was born probably, she'd made her play for Edward – not that I blamed her or anyone else for wanting him. **

"I was disappointed that Edward did not want me." Tanya admitted, speaking to Bella. "But I respect his decisions, and I see that you and he are made for each other."

Edward wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulder. "Thank you, Tanya."

**Still, she would be beautiful at the very least and magnificent at best.**

Tanya smiled.

**Though Edward clearly – if inconceivably – preferred me, I wouldn't be able to help making comparisons.**

"_No one _can even compare to you."

**I had grumbled a little until Edward, who knew my weaknesses, made me feel guilty.**

**"We're the closest thing they have to family, Bella," he'd reminded me. "They still feel like orphans, you know, even after all this time."**

The Cullens and the Denalis liked their close, family-like relationship.

**So I'd conceded, hiding my frown.**

**Tanya had a big family now, almost as big as the Cullens. There were five of them; Tanya, Kate, and Irina had been joined by Carmen and Eleazar much the same way the Cullens had been joined by Alice and Jasper, all of them bonded by their desire to live more compassionately than normal vampires did.**

"Your family bonds are strong." Benjamin spoke. He could tell this just by observing the Cullens and the Denalis.

"Something which is _very_ unusual for vampires." Vladimir noted.

Carlisle nodded his head. "Yes, our family bonds are strong. We," he gestured to himself and Eleazar, "think it has something to do with abstaining from human blood and putting more value on human life. It takes the competitive aspect out of our hunting instincts, and as a result, it allows us to become very loyal to each other and form stronger family bonds."

This made a lot of sense to the vampires around the room. It was their competitive instinct for human blood that made it difficult for covens to form true bonds of strength and family – yes, they were loyal to one another, but it could never be a _full _loyalty like the Cullens and the Denalis. It was also the reason so many covens had been destroyed by the Volturi when Chelsea broke their bonds.

**For all the company, though, Tanya and her sisters were still alone in one way. Still in mourning. Because a very long time ago, they'd had a mother, too.**

Tanya and Kate winced.

**I could imagine the hole that loss would leave, even after a thousand years; I tried to visualize the Cullen family without their creator, their center, and their guide – their father, Carlisle. I couldn't see it.**

Esme grabbed Carlisle's hand. She couldn't imagine the loss of Carlisle either – the same went for Rosalie, Edward, and Emmett.

**Carlisle had explained Tanya's history during one of the many nights I'd stayed late at the Cullens' home, learning as much as I could, preparing as much as was possible for the future I'd chosen. Tanya's mother's story was one among many, a cautionary tale illustrating just one of the rules I would need to be aware of when I joined the immortal world. Only one rule, actually – one law that broke down into a thousand different facets: **_**Keep the secret**_**.**

'_Fat chance that did the leeches.' _Leah thought.

**Keeping the secret meant a lot of things – living inconspicuously like the Cullens, moving on before humans could suspect they weren't aging. Or keeping clear of humans altogether – except at mealtime – the way nomads like James and Victoria had lived; the way Jasper's friends, Peter and Charlotte, still lived. It meant keeping control of whatever new vampires you created, like Jasper had done when he'd lived with Maria. Like Victoria had failed to do with her newborns.**

**And it meant not creating some things in the first place, because some creations were uncontrollable.**

'_The immortal children…' _Was the general thought around the room for vampires.

**"I don't know Tanya's mother's name," Carlisle had admitted, his golden eyes, almost the exact shade of his fair hair, sad with remembering Tanya's pain. "They never speak of her if they can avoid it, never think of her willingly.**

"Her name was… Sasha." Kate said, clenching her fists as she remembered her mother and the immortal child she'd created.

**"The woman who created Tanya, Kate, and Irina – who loved them, I believe – lived many years before I was born, during a time of plague in our world, the plague of the immortal children.**

**"What they were thinking, those ancient ones, I can't begin to understand. They created vampires out of humans who were barely more than infants."**

Rosalie shook her head furiously. She could never do such a thing to a child.

**I'd had to swallow back the bile that rose in my throat as I'd pictured what he was describing.**

**"They were very beautiful," Carlisle had explained quickly, seeing my reaction. "So endearing, so enchanting, you can't imagine. You had but to be near them to love them; it was an automatic thing.**

'_Like me?' _Renesmee thought, knowing she didn't have to use her gift with her father.

"No, Renesmee." Edward said, kissing his daughter's forward. "You are _nothing _like the immortal children."

**"However, they could not be taught. They were frozen at whatever level of development they'd achieved before being bitten. Adorable two-year-olds with dimples and lisps that could destroy half a village in one of their tantrums. If they hungered, they fed, and no words of warning could restrain them. Humans saw them, stories circulated, fear spread like fire in dry brush...**

**"Tanya's mother created such a child. As with the other ancients, I cannot fathom her reasons." He'd taken a deep, steadying breath. "The Volturi became involved, of course."**

"_Vasilii_." Tanya hissed. "That was the… _child's _name."

**I'd flinched as I always did at the name, but of course the legion of Italian vampires – royalty in their own estimation – was central to this story.**

Vladimir and Stefan scoffed at the mention of the Volturi.

**There couldn't be a law if there was no punishment; there couldn't be a punishment if there was no one to deliver it. The ancients Aro, Caius, and Marcus ruled the Volturi forces; I'd only met them once, but in that brief encounter, it seemed to me that Aro, with his powerful mind-reading gift – one touch, and he knew every thought a mind had ever held – was the true leader.**

"The Volturi members are merely Aro's pawns." Vladimir said.

**"The Volturi studied the immortal children, at home in Volterra and all around the world. Caius decided the young ones were incapable of protecting our secret. And so they had to be destroyed.**

**"I told you they were loveable. Well, covens fought to the last man – were utterly decimated – to protect them. The carnage was not as widespread as the southern wars on this continent, but more devastating in its own way. Long-established covens, old traditions, friends... Much was lost. In the end, the practice was completely eliminated. The immortal children became unmentionable, a taboo.**

**"When I lived with the Volturi, I met two immortal children, so I know firsthand the appeal they had. Aro studied the little ones for many years after the catastrophe they'd caused was over. **

"Of course he studied them." Kate said. "Aro is no better."

**You know his inquisitive disposition; he was hopeful that they could be tamed. But in the end, the decision was unanimous: the immortal children could not be allowed to exist." **

**I'd all but forgotten the Denali sisters' mother when the story returned to her.**

**"It is unclear precisely what happened with Tanya's mother," Carlisle had said. "Tanya, Kate, and Irina were entirely oblivious until the day the Volturi came for them, their mother and her illegal creation already their prisoners. It was ignorance that saved Tanya's and her sisters' lives. Aro touched them and saw their total innocence, so they were not punished with their mother. **

**"None of them had ever seen the boy before, or dreamed of his existence, until the day they watched him burn in their mother's arms. I can only guess that their mother had kept her secret to protect them from this exact outcome. But why had she created him in the first place? Who was he, and what had he meant to her that would cause her to cross this most uncrossable of lines? **

"I _believe_ that Vasilii was related to Sasha as I was." Tanya admitted. She'd thought this over for many years, and this was the only conclusion she could come to, the only reason she could think of for why Sasha would create an immortal child. "I was a descendant of Sasha's only child, and I _strongly _believe that Vasilii was as well. His resemblance to Sasha and I was so similar. It couldn't be a coincidence."

Kate looked over at her sister. "Are you sure of this, sister?"

"Quite sure." Tanya nodded her head.

**Tanya and the others never received an answer to any of these questions. But they could not doubt their mother's guilt, and I don't think they've ever truly forgiven her.**

It was true. Tanya and Kate – even Irina – had never truly forgiven their mother.

**"Even with Aro's perfect assurance that Tanya, Kate, and Irina were innocent, Caius wanted them to burn. Guilty by association. They were lucky that Aro felt like being merciful that day. Tanya and her sisters were pardoned, but left with unhealing hearts and a very healthy respect for the law..."**

A respect that – regretfully – led the Cullens to the situation they were in right now. Though the Cullens couldn't blame Irina.

**I'm not sure where exactly the memory turned into a dream. One moment it seemed that I was listening to Carlisle in my memory, looking at his face, and then a moment later I was looking at a gray, barren field and smelling the thick scent of burning incense in the air. I was not alone there.**

Bella knew this was one of her vivid nightmares with the beautiful child. These were dreams she remembered as clearly as she could from her human life.

**The huddle of figures in the center of the field, all shrouded in ashy cloaks, should have terrified me – they could only be Volturi, and I was, against what they'd decreed at our last meeting, still human. But I knew, as I sometimes did in dreams, that I was invisible to them.**

**Scattered all around me were smoking heaps. I recognized the sweetness in the air and did not examine the mounds too closely. I had no desire to see the faces of the vampires they had executed, half afraid that I might recognize someone in the smoldering pyres.**

**The Volturi soldiers stood in a circle around something or someone, and I heard their whispery voices raised in agitation. I edged closer to the cloaks, compelled by the dream to see whatever thing or person they were examining with such intensity. Creeping carefully between two of the tall hissing shrouds, I finally saw the object of their debate, raised up on a little hillock above them.**

Renesmee tightly held onto Bella and Edward's hands. She didn't look frightened, just merely curious.

**He was beautiful, adorable, just as Carlisle had described. The boy was a toddler still, maybe two years of age. Light brown curls framed his cherubic face with its round cheeks and full lips. And he was trembling, his eyes closed as if he was too frightened to watch death coming closer every second.**

**I was struck with such a powerful need to save the lovely, terrified child that the Volturi, despite all their devastating menace, no longer mattered to me. I shoved past them, not caring if they realized my presence. Breaking free of them altogether, I sprinted toward the boy.**

**Only to stagger to a halt as I got a clear view of the hillock that he sat upon. It was not earth and rock, but a pile of human bodies, drained and lifeless. Too late not to see these faces. I knew them all – Angela, Ben, Jessica, Mike…. And directly beneath the adorable boy were the bodies of my father and my mother.**

**The child opened his bright, bloodred eyes.**

Silence filled the living room.

Maggie looked up. "Who would like to read the next chapter?"

"I shall." Vladimir volunteered. This seemed to surprise people.

Maggie stood up and was across the room within a millisecond. She stopped in front of Vladimir and went to hand him the book, but paused as she locked eyes with Vladimir. Without even realizing what she was doing, Maggie reached forward with her free hand, the tips of her fingers just brushing Vladimir's ashy-blonde hair.

Suddenly, someone coughed loudly and Maggie instantly pulled back her hand. She handed the book to Vladimir and returned to her seat with Siobhan and Liam.

Vladimir flipped the page to the third chapter…

**~T~**

**I'm finished! I wanted to get this chapter done and out because I'm going to a wedding in like the middle of nowhere for my step-family and there will be no internet!**

**As was suggested, I tried to involve more of the shape-shifters. It's sometimes easier for me to work in certain comments from certain people, but I try. I also create some drama with Paul. I wanted someone to flip out, and I figured Paul would be perfect.**

**Also, sorry for explaining stuff you might already know. (I use a lot of information from the Twilight wiki. I take no claim). Though I did make up the whole Vasilii being related to Sasha thing. Anyways, the only reason I explain things is because in the story the wolves and the humans wouldn't know these things.**

**That's it! (Sorry for any grammar mistakes!)**

**Please review!**


	4. Big Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight!**

**I find this story very fun to write… and with all the great reviews it makes it even more enjoyable! Thank you everyone!**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

_Emphasis/Renesmee's gift_

**Text from books**

**~T~**

"**Big Day**," Vladimir announced.

Renesmee smiled. She was going to read about her parents wedding day, and it was exciting for her.

**My own eyes flew open.**

**I lay shivering and gasping in my warm bed for several minutes, trying to break free of the dream. The sky outside my window turned gray and then pale pink while I waited for my heart to slow.**

**When I was fully back to the reality of my messy, familiar room, I was a little annoyed with myself. What a dream to have the night before my wedding! **

"Or perhaps it wasn't the type of dream you were _hoping _for." Emmett grinned. "You were probably expecting filthy, naugh –"

"Already, Emmett," Bella said, sounding exasperated. "You couldn't even wait till we got farther into the chapter."

Emmett laughed. "I can't ever miss the chance to tease my little sister, even if she doesn't blush like the colour of Weasley hair anymore."

**That's what I got for obsessing over disturbing stories in the middle of the night.**

**Eager to shake off the nightmare, I got dressed and headed down to the kitchen long before I needed to. First I cleaned the already tidy rooms, and then when Charlie was up I made him pancakes. I was much too keyed up to have any interest in eating breakfast myself – I sat bouncing in my seat while he ate.**

**"You're picking up Mr. Weber at three o'clock," I reminded him.**

**"I don't have that much to do today besides bring the minister, Bells. I'm not likely to forget my only job." Charlie had taken the entire day off for the wedding, and he was definitely at loose ends. Now and then, his eyes flickered furtively to the closet under the stairs, where he kept his fishing gear.**

"He remained at loose ends throughout the entire duration of the ending… but he was also very glad to see how happy you were, my love." Edward told Bella.

**"That's not your only job. You also have to be dressed and presentable."**

**He scowled into his cereal bowl and muttered the words "monkey suit" under his breath.**

**There was a brisk tapping on the front door.**

**"You think you have it bad," I said, grimacing as I rose. "Alice will be working on me all day long."**

Bella smiled a bit. Alice had most _definitely _heard what she and Charlie had said.

**Charlie nodded thoughtfully, conceding that he did have the lesser ordeal. I ducked in to kiss the top of his head as I passed – he blushed and **_**harrumphed**_** – and then continued on to get the door for my best girlfriend and soon-to-be sister.**

**Alice's short black hair was not in its usual spiky do – it was smoothed into sleek pin curls around her pixie face, which wore a contrastingly businesslike expression. She dragged me from the house with barely a "Hey, Charlie" called over her shoulder.**

**Alice appraised me as I got into her Porsche.**

**"Oh, hell, look at your eyes!" She **_**tsked**_** in reproach. "What did you **_**do**_**? Stay up all night?"**

**"Almost."**

**She glowered. "I've only allotted so much time to make you stunning, Bella – you might have taken better care of my raw material."**

"You would have looked stunning no matter what." Edward told Bella.

Bella smiled at her husband.

**"No one expects me to be stunning. I think the bigger problem is that I might fall asleep during the ceremony and not be able to say 'I do' at the right part, and then Edward will make his escape."**

Edward shook his head at Bella's thinking.

**She laughed. "I'll throw my bouquet at you when it gets close."**

**"Thanks."**

"Luckily, she didn't have to."

**"At least you'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane tomorrow."**

Edward looked slightly annoyed. He had _specifically _told everyone not to give Bella a _single _hint as to where they would be going.

**I raised one eyebrow. **_**Tomorrow**_**, I mused. If we were heading out tonight after the reception, and we would still be on a plane tomorrow... well, we weren't going to Boise, Idaho. Edward hadn't dropped a single hint. I wasn't too stressed about the mystery, but it **_**was**_** strange not knowing where I would be sleeping tomorrow night. Or hopefully **_**not**_** sleeping...**

"You did bring cuffs on your honeymoon, right Eddie?" Emmett said.

Edward growled.

**Alice realized that she'd given something away, and she frowned.**

**"You're all packed and ready," she said to distract me.**

**It worked. "Alice, I wish you would let me pack my own things!"**

Jacob laughed. "That's all it takes to distract you, Bells."

Bella glared at him. Now that she was a vampire, she was even more distracted by all the things her improved-eyesight allowed her to see.

**"It would have given too much away."**

**"And denied you an opportunity to shop."**

**"You'll be my sister officially in ten short hours... it's about time to get over this aversion to new clothes."**

Renesmee reached over to touch Bella's hand from her spot on Edward's lap. _I don't like clothes either, Momma._

Bella laughed.

**I glowered groggily out the windshield until we were almost to the house.**

**"Is he back yet?" I asked.**

"I wanted to see you when I got back, but Alice threatened me with bodily harm." Edward said softly.

**"Don't worry, he'll be there before the music starts. But you don't get to see him, no matter when he gets back. We're doing this the traditional way."**

Rosalie snorted.

**I snorted. "Traditional!"**

**"Okay, aside from the bride and groom."**

**"You know he's already peeked."**

**"Oh no – that's why I'm the only one who's seen you in the dress. I've been very careful to not think about it when he's around."**

"She didn't once crack and show me." Edward said. "But it made seeing you walk down that aisle – looking _so _stunning – even better."

**"Well," I said as we turned into the drive, "I see you got to reuse your graduation decorations." Three miles of drive were once again wrapped in hundreds of thousands of twinkle lights. This time, she'd added white satin bows.**

Embry and Quil remembered how much Alice had decorated the Cullen residence for a simple graduation party, so they could imagine how over-the-top she had probably gone for the wedding.

**"Waste not, want not. Enjoy this, because you don't get to see the inside decorations until it's time." She pulled into the cavernous garage north of the main house; Emmett's big Jeep was still gone.**

**"Since when is the bride not allowed to see the decorations?" I protested.**

**"Since she put me in charge. I want you to get the full impact coming down the stairs."**

"I wish she had let me look at them." Bella sighed. She looked at Edward. "When I came down the staircase, I wasn't really concerned with the decorations. I just wanted to look at you."

Edward smiled crookedly at Bella.

**She clapped her hand over my eyes before she let me inside the kitchen. I was immediately assailed by the scent.**

**"What is **_**that**_**?" I wondered as she guided me into the house.**

**"Is it too much?" Alice's voice was abruptly worried. "You're the first human in here; I hope I got it right."**

"It smelt wonderful, actually." Seth admitted.

**"It smells wonderful!" I assured her – almost intoxicating, but not at all overwhelming, the balance of the different fragrances was subtle and flawless. "Orange blossoms… lilac… and something else – am I right?"**

**"Very good, Bella. You only missed the freesia and the roses."**

"She had a _very_ frustrating time trying to get all the smells right." Esme informed Bella. "The smells of the fragrances were very strong to us, so Alice couldn't tell if she had the right amount."

"Well, she had it perfect." Bella nodded her head.

Emmett laughed. "It was hilarious to watch Alice get frustrated when she was decorating."

Rosalie smacked Emmett on the back of the head. "I'm sure your laughing didn't help." She told her husband.

**She didn't uncover my eyes until we were in her oversized bathroom. I stared at the long counter, covered in all the paraphernalia of a beauty salon, and began to feel my sleepless night.**

**"Is this really necessary? I'm going to look plain next to him no matter what."**

"You didn't look plain at all, dear. You looked very beautiful." Esme smiled at her daughter-in-law.

**She pushed me down into a low pink chair. "No one will dare to call you plain when I'm through with you."**

**"Only because they're afraid you'll suck their blood," I muttered.**

There were a few chuckles around the room from the vampires. The shape-shifters and Billy and Sue, on the other hand, didn't look so amused.

**I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes, hoping I'd be able to nap through it. I did drift in and out a little bit while she masked, buffed, and polished every surface of my body.**

**It was after lunchtime when Rosalie glided past the bathroom door in a shimmery silver gown with her golden hair piled up in a soft crown on top of her head. She was so beautiful it made me want to cry.**

Rosalie smiled. She couldn't help it… she liked when people told her she was beautiful.

Edward shook his head in amusement at Rosalie's thoughts.

**What was even the point of dressing up with Rosalie around?**

Renesmee reached over to Bella and touched her hand, showing her multiple memories. _Momma, you are beautiful_.

"That you are." Edward agreed.

**"They're back," Rosalie said, and immediately my childish fit of despair passed. Edward was home.**

Leah rolled her eyes.

**"Keep him out of here!"**

**"He won't cross you today," Rosalie reassured her. "He values his life too much. Esme's got them finishing things up out back. Do you want some help? I could do her hair."**

**My jaw fell open. I floundered around in my head, trying to remember how to close it.**

Jacob had a similar reaction. "Blondie… seriously…"

Rosalie glared at him. "Oh, please," she said. "I was not offended by her choice of groom."

**I had never been Rosalie's favorite person in the world. **

"No, you were not." Rosalie told Bella bluntly. "But now…" She glanced over at Renesmee. "You've made choices _I _would have made…"

"I understand." Bella nodded her head, smiling.

**Then, making things even more strained between us, she was personally offended by the choice I was making now. Though she had her impossible beauty, her loving family, and her soul mate in Emmett, she would have traded it all to be human.**

Rosalie took Emmett's hand in hers, smiling sadly. "The worst part is…" She spoke softly. "Emmett and I… we were both born in 1915. We could have been married and had children… if we had only just met one another."

Emmett gave Rosalie's hand a comforting squeeze.

Bella was looking at Rosalie and Emmett. She was surprised. She hadn't known that.

**And here I was, callously throwing away everything she wanted in life like it was garbage. It didn't exactly warm her to me.**

**"Sure," Alice said easily. "You can start braiding. I want it intricate. The veil goes here, underneath." Her hands started combing through my hair, hefting it, twisting it, illustrating in detail what she wanted. When she was done, Rosalie's hands replaced hers, shaping my hair with a feather-light touch. Alice moved back to my face.**

**Once Rosalie received Alice's commendation on my hair, she was sent off to retrieve my dress and then to locate Jasper, who had been dispatched to pick up my mother and her husband, Phil, from their hotel. Downstairs, I could faintly hear the door opening and closing over and over. Voices began to float up to us.**

**Alice made me stand so that she could ease the dress over my hair and makeup. My knees shook so badly as she fastened the long line of pearl buttons up my back that the satin quivered in little wavelets down to the floor.**

Edward looked at Bella with a raised eyebrow.

"I was really nervous." Bella said, shrugging her shoulders. The action, though, felt weird and unneeded.

**"Deep breaths, Bella," Alice said. "And try to lower your heart rate. You're going to sweat off your new face."**

"_The horror_,"

**I gave her the best sarcastic expression I could manage. "I'll get right on that."**

**"I have to get dressed now. Can you hold yourself together for two minutes?"**

**"Urn... maybe?"**

**She rolled her eyes and darted out the door.**

**I concentrated on my breathing, counting each movement of my lungs, and stared at the patterns that the bathroom light made on the shiny fabric of my skirt. I was afraid to look in the mirror – afraid the image of myself in the wedding dress would send me over the edge into a full-scale panic attack.**

"And that's why I didn't look at myself." Bella told Edward.

Edward shook his head. "You had looked _so _beautiful, my love."

**Alice was back before I had taken two hundred breaths, in a dress that flowed down her slender body like a silvery waterfall.**

**"Alice – wow."**

**"It's nothing. No one will be looking at me today. Not while you're in the room."**

**"Har har."**

"You really did look beautiful, Bells." Jacob told his best friend.

**"Now, are you in control of yourself, or do I have to bring Jasper up here?"**

**"They're back? Is my mom here?"**

**"She just walked in the door. She's on her way up."**

Bella looked over at Sarabella and E.J. "Have you two ever met Renée?"

"Yes, we have." Sarabella said. "You waited to introduce her to the supernatural world until Mu – Renesmee was fully grown."

"How… did she take it?"

"She was shocked, but mostly angry that you all kept her in the dark for so long." E.J answered.

Bella nodded her head. She was glad to know she _could _have her mother in her life.

**Renée had flown in two days ago, and I'd spent every minute I could with her – every minute that I could pry her away from Esme and the decorations, in other words. As far as I could tell, she was having more fun with this than a kid locked inside Disneyland overnight.**

"You were the same when… Renesmee got married." Sarabella informed her future-grandmother.

"Really?" Bella said, surprised. She couldn't ever imagine herself acting the way her mother did.

Edward chuckled and leaned over to Bella. "You're her only daughter, love. She was happy and excited." He told her. "And Renesmee is your only daughter, so you'd be the same."

'_That is right…' _Bella thought.

**In a way, I felt almost as cheated as Charlie. All that wasted terror over her reaction...**

Bella shook her head. She couldn't believe how ridiculous she had acted over getting married to Edward when she was human. The whole thing was so worth it now.

**"Oh, Bella!" she squealed now, gushing before she was all the way through the door. "Oh, honey, you're so beautiful! Oh, I'm going to cry! Alice, you're amazing! You and Esme should go into business as wedding planners. Where did you find this dress? It's gorgeous! So graceful, so elegant. Bella, you look like you just stepped out of an Austen movie." My mother's voice sounded a little distance away, and everything in the room was slightly blurry. "Such a creative idea, designing the theme around Bella's ring. So romantic! To think it's been in Edward's family since the eighteen hundreds!"**

Vladimir was looking very displeased at having to read something like this. He regretted volunteering to read.

**Alice and I exchanged a brief conspiratorial look. My mom was off on the dress style by more than a hundred years. The wedding wasn't actually centered around the ring, but around Edward himself.**

Leah pretended to gag.

**There was a loud, gruff throat-clearing in the doorway.**

**"Renée, Esme said it's time you got settled down there," Charlie said.**

**"Well, Charlie, don't you look dashing!" Renée said in a tone that was almost shocked. That might have explained the crustiness of Charlie's answer.**

**"Alice got to me."**

**"Is it really time already?" Renée said to herself, sounding almost as nervous as I felt. "This has all gone so fast. I feel dizzy."**

**That made two of us.**

'_I was so nervous for nothing…' _Bella thought. _'It was Edward, after all.'_

**"Give me a hug before I go down," Renée insisted. "Carefully, now, don't tear anything."**

**My mother squeezed me gently around the waist, then wheeled for the door, only to complete the spin and face me again.**

**"Oh goodness, I almost forgot! Charlie, Where's the box?"**

**My dad rummaged in his pockets for a minute and then produced a small white box, which he handed to Renée. Renée lifted the lid and held it out to me.**

**"Something blue," she said.**

**"Something old, too. They were your Grandma Swan's," Charlie added. "We had a jeweler replace the paste stones with sapphires."**

**Inside the box were two heavy silver hair combs. Dark blue sapphires were clustered into intricate floral shapes atop the teeth.**

Sarabella quickly glanced at Seth across the room and smiled. She couldn't wait till she got the silver hair combs. They were _so _beautiful.

**My throat got all thick. "Mom, Dad... you shouldn't have."**

Bella smiled as well. She would be able to pass the silver combs onto Renesmee, along with the blanket her mother had made for her.

**"Alice wouldn't let us do anything else," Renée said. "Every time we tried, she all but ripped our throats out."**

**A hysterical giggle burst through my lips.**

**Alice stepped up and quickly slid both combs into my hair under the edge of the thick braids. "That's something old and something blue," Alice mused, taking a few steps back to admire me. "And your dress is new... so here –"**

**She flicked something at me. I held my hands out automatically, and the filmy white garter landed in my palms.**

**"That's mine and I want it back," Alice told me. **

Jacob, Seth, Quil, and Embry all started laughing.

Bella ducked her head.

**I blushed.**

**"There," Alice said with satisfaction. "A little color – that's all you needed. You are officially perfect." With a little self-congratulatory smile, she turned to my parents. "Renée, you need to get downstairs."**

**"Yes, ma'am." Renée blew me a kiss and hurried out the door.**

**"Charlie, would you grab the flowers, please?"**

**While Charlie was out of the room, Alice hooked the garter out of my hands and then ducked under my skirt. I gasped and tottered as her cold hand caught my ankle; she yanked the garter into place.**

'_How embarrassing…' _Bella thought.

**She was back on her feet before Charlie returned with the two frothy white bouquets. The scent of roses and orange blossom and freesia enveloped me in a soft mist.**

**Rosalie – the best musician in the family next to Edward – began playing the piano downstairs. Pachelbel's Canon. I began hyperventilating.**

"I prefer the violin to the piano." Rosalie said absentmindedly.

**"Easy, Bells," Charlie said. He turned to Alice nervously. "She looks a little sick. Do you think she's going to make it?"**

**His voice sounded far away. I couldn't feel my legs. **

"Jeez, Bells." Jacob said. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I don't even really know anymore." Bella admitted. "At the time… I just really wanted to get the wedding out of the way." She looked at Edward. "I realize how silly I was being."

Edward gave Bella a quick kiss on the lips, seeing as how Renesmee was sitting on his lap. "All that matters to me is the fact that you married me."

**"She'd better."**

**Alice stood right in front of me, on her tiptoes to better stare me in the eye, and gripped my wrists in her hard hands.**

**"Focus, Bella. Edward is waiting for you down there."**

**I took a deep breath, willing myself into composure.**

Bella moved closer to Edward and moved Renesmee so she was sitting right in-between their laps.

**The music slowly morphed into a new song. Charlie nudged me. "Bells, we're up to bat."**

**"Bella?" Alice asked, still holding my gaze.**

**"Yes," I squeaked. "Edward. Okay." I let her pull me from the room, with Charlie tagging along at my elbow.**

**The music was louder in the hall. It floated up the stairs along with the fragrance of a million flowers. I concentrated on the idea of Edward waiting below to get my feet to shuffle forward.**

"I couldn't stop thinking about you… waiting to see how beautiful you would look." Edward said softly.

**The music was familiar, Wagner's traditional march surrounded by a flood of embellishments.**

Maggie sighed sadly. She _wanted _to get married.

**"It's my turn," Alice chimed. "Count to five and follow me." She began a slow, graceful dance down the staircase. I should have realized that having Alice as my only bridesmaid was a mistake. I would look that much more uncoordinated coming behind her.**

"You looked beautiful and graceful, Isabella." Carmen said.

**A sudden fanfare trilled through the soaring music. I recognized my cue.**

**"Don't let me fall, Dad," I whispered. Charlie pulled my hand through his arm and then grasped it tightly.**

"There is no way you would have fallen." Esme smiled at her daughter-in-law.

_**One step at a time**_**, I told myself as we began to descend to the slow tempo of the march. I didn't lift my eyes until my feet were safely on the flat ground, though I could hear the murmurs and rustling of the audience as I came into view. Blood flooded my cheeks at the sound; of course I could be counted on to be the blushing bride.**

Edward stroked Bella's cheek. "You looked exquisite."

**As soon as my feet were past the treacherous stairs, I was looking for him. For a brief second, I was distracted by the profusion of white blossoms that hung in garlands from everything in the room that wasn't alive, dripping with long lines of white gossamer ribbons. But I tore my eyes from the bowery canopy and searched across the rows of satin-draped chairs – blushing more deeply as I took in the crowd of faces all focused on me – until I found him at last, standing before an arch overflowing with more flowers, more gossamer.**

'_Sounds beautiful…' _Sarabella thought, thinking about what her own wedding would look like when she got married.

**I was barely conscious that Carlisle stood by his side, and Angela's father behind them both. I didn't see my mother where she must have been sitting in the front row, or my new family, or any of the guests – they would have to wait till later.**

**All I really saw was Edward's face; it filled my vision and overwhelmed my mind. His eyes were a buttery, burning gold; his perfect face was almost severe with the depth of his emotion. And then, as he met my awed gaze, he broke into a breathtaking smile of exultation.**

"When I saw you, all my worries disappeared." Bella said.

Leah let out a sound of annoyance before Edward could reply. She was getting tired of hearing their stupid little flirty conversations with one another. "Just stop…" She grumbled.

Neither Bella nor Edward bothered to say anything. Nothing could ruin their perfect moments.

**Suddenly, it was only the pressure of Charlie's hand on mine that kept me from sprinting headlong down the aisle.**

**The march was too slow as I struggled to pace my steps to its rhythm. Mercifully, the aisle was very short. And then, at last, I was there. Edward held out his hand. Charlie took my hand and, in a symbol as old as the world, placed it in Edward's. I touched the cool miracle of his skin, and I was home.**

Esme leaned against Carlisle's shoulder. "We should renew our vows." She suggested.

Carlisle kissed Esme's cheek. "Good idea."

**Our vows were the simple, traditional words that had been spoken a million times, though never by a couple quite like us. We'd asked Mr. Weber to make only one small change. He obligingly traded the line "till death do us part" for the more appropriate "as long as we both shall live."**

Kate sighed lightly. Reading about Bella's wedding was making her want to get married… something which she'd never once considered for herself before.

Garrett heard Kate's sigh and pulled her onto his lap.

**In that moment, as the minister said his part, my world, which had been upside down for so long now, seemed to settle into its proper position. I saw just how silly I'd been for fearing this – as if it were an unwanted birthday gift or an embarrassing exhibition, like the prom. I looked into Edward's shining, triumphant eyes and knew that I was winning, too. Because nothing else mattered but that I could stay with him. **

Jacob looked over at Bella and Edward who were smiling at each other while holding Renesmee close to them. He couldn't believe he'd never noticed just how _in love _Bella was with Edward. If only he had been able to accept – and see – it back then. If he had, he would've been able to spare himself – and Bella – all that unnecessary pain.

**I didn't realize I was crying until it was time to say the binding words.**

**"I do," I managed to choke out in a nearly unintelligible whisper, blinking my eyes clear so I could see his face.**

**When it was his turn to speak, the words rang clear and victorious.**

**"I do," he vowed.**

Emily took Sam's hand in hers and moved closer to him. "I can't wait till we have our wedding."

"I can't wait either." Sam said. He leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

Leah let out an annoyed sigh. She had specifically left Sam's pack so she wouldn't have to deal with stuff like this. Without even caring, she rose to her feet and quickly left the room.

Emily started to get up. She wanted to talk to Leah – to apologize, _again _– even though she knew it wouldn't do much.

"Don't do it, Emily." Seth shook his head. "Leah… she just needs to be by herself."

Emily nodded her head and relaxed again at Sam's side. _'I just wish I could fix this…'_

**Mr. Weber declared us husband and wife, and then Edward's hands reached up to cradle my face, carefully, as if it were as delicate as the white petals swaying above our heads. I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was **_**mine**_**. **

"I'll always be yours." Edward said, placing his hand on Bella's cheek.

Bella nodded her head, leaning into Edward's cheek. "Yes, you will."

**His golden eyes looked as if they would have tears, too, if such a thing were not impossible. He bent his head toward mine, and I stretched up on the tips of my toes, throwing my arms – bouquet and all – around his neck.**

Emmett suddenly laughed, saying, "I was surprised you did that, little sis."

"I was surprised I did that myself, too." Bella said, also laughing.

**He kissed me tenderly, adoringly; I forgot the crowd, the place, the time, the reason… only remembering that he loved me, that he wanted me, that I was his.**

**He began the kiss, and he had to end it; I clung to him, ignoring the titters and the throat-clearing in the audience. Finally, his hands restrained my face and he pulled back – too soon – to look at me.**

"We'd been kissing for quite a while, love." Edward chuckled. "Everyone was beginning to wonder when we would stop."

Bella was, once again, so glad that she couldn't blush.

**On the surface his sudden smile was amused, almost a smirk. But underneath his momentary entertainment at my public exhibition was a deep joy that echoed my own.**

"I couldn't have been happier." Edward admitted. "That was our first day of forever."

Emmett groaned loudly. He was beginning to get annoyed now, too. "This _whole _chapter you two have been mushy!" He said loudly. "It is suffocating."

"You and Rosalie are _no better_." Edward rebutted. "You two were insufferable to be around."

"We weren't all mushy and giving each other compliments every ten minutes… we were having a _great _time."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and kissed Emmett's cheek. "Stop talking." She told her husband.

**The crowd erupted into applause, and he turned our bodies to face our friends and family. I couldn't look away from his face to see them.**

**My mother's arms were the first to find me, her tear-streaked face the first thing I saw when I finally tore my eyes unwillingly from Edward. And then I was handed through the crowd, passed from embrace to embrace, only vaguely aware of who held me, my attention centered on Edward's hand clutched tightly in my own. I did recognize the difference between the soft, warm hugs of my human friends and the gentle, cool embraces of my new family.**

**One scorching hug stood out from all the others – Seth Clearwater had braved the throng of vampires to stand in for my lost werewolf friend.**

"That is the end of the chapter." Vladimir announced, sounding somewhat annoyed. The chapter – to him – had been a great annoyance to read.

Jacob looked at Seth. "Thanks for that, buddy."

Seth shrugged his shoulders. "No problem." He then asked, "Are we reading more chapters?"

"I think we should take a little break." Esme suggested. The vampires around the room were beginning to get agitated with sitting in one room for so long. "After the break, we shall read one or two more chapters and then have dinner."

Once she said this, the shape-shifters quickly got to their feet and headed outside for some fresh air with their imprintees. Being stuck in a room with vampires for long periods of time was not ideal for them.

Jacob got up, too, and helped his father out of the house and onto the porch.

Seth, on the other hand, remained seated. He looked at Emmett. "Hey, you wanna play some Call of Duty?"

Emmett grinned and grabbed an Xbox controller "Yeah, I'll kick your ass."

Bella glared at Emmett for the use of the swear word, but he just ignored her. Sighing, she looked down at Renesmee. "Honey, why don't you go outside and play with Jacob and Claire?"

Renesmee nodded her head and got off Bella and Edward's laps. She hurried out of the house to follow after Jacob.

Edward stood up and began lending out car keys to people for hunting usage. Once he was done, he returned to Bella's side. She had been standing and waiting for him. "You want to go hunting?" He asked her.

"Sure," Bella agreed, taking his hand. Together, they both sprinted out of the house.

**~T~**

Maggie had stepped outside and was walking around the Cullen property, enjoying the beautiful scenery. She made sure to stay well-away from the shape-shifters and their humans.

Suddenly, she turned around to see Vladimir standing behind her.

"Vladimir." She spoke softly.

"Maggie." He said in return, taking a step towards her. He brushed Maggie's cheek with his thumb. "Beautiful…"

Yet again, Maggie found herself losing any sense of what was going on. She moved closer to him and reached up, touching Vladimir's ashy-blonde hair. She didn't know why she felt like this… and it kind of scared her.

"Is Maggie short for something?" Vladimir questioned suddenly.

"Magdalena," Maggie replied, surprising herself. She'd always hated her full name and had never told anyone what it was before.

Vladimir kissed Maggie's forehead and took a step back, though he never once broke eye contact with Maggie. "I shall see you later… _Magdalena_,"

And with that, Vladimir turned around and left.

Maggie stood there, staring at the spot where Vladimir had been standing. She was feeling more than confused now…

**~T~**

**Yeah! Finally, I finished another chapter!**

**I found this one sort of difficult to write. It was because it was the whole wedding chapter, that's why probably.**

**Magdalena isn't Maggie's full name at all… I just thought it would be kind of cool if Maggie was a nickname of the sort. Just trying to be creative, that's all.**

**Anyways, please review! And sorry for any stupid grammar mistakes!**


	5. Gesture

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight**

**Soooo…. I have another question… has anyone ever read the **_**Night World series **_**by L.J Smith. They're pretty good books – and I'm always constantly rereading them while waiting for the finale book to come out. (L.J Smith keeps moving the release date. It's annoying).**

**Anyways, I'm thinking about doing another "reading the books" story, but for the Night World. I'm not sure yet… right now, I'm thinking it over.**

**Okay, so here's another chapter! Hope you all enjoy it!**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

_Emphasis/Renesmee's gifts_

**~T~**

Leah _was _pissed off. At Sam, at Emily, at the phasing, at the _stupid _imprinting… but mostly, she was pissed off at herself. She was _still _heartbroken… and that made her bitter and angry. All Leah wanted to do was get over Sam… and she'd done that by joining Jacob's pack. But now… she was stuck in a room with him and a bunch of leeches reading about a love story, which – quite frankly – made her sick to her stomach.

'_I hate this…' _Leah thought. She just wanted to move on with her life... go to community college, take same meditation and yoga to help with her anger, eventually quit phasing, get over Sam, and _hopefully _fall in love with someone. And when she _did _fall in love, she would not involve herself in anything supernatural ever again. She'd forget about the wolves _and _the vampires.

Sighing in annoyance, Leah quickened her pace. She wasn't that far away from the Cullen household. After she'd run out of the living room, she'd made it to the forest just in time to phase… and because of that, she had to run all the way to her house to go get some knew clothes. After having gotten her clothes, Leah had changed and just decided that she'd walk back so she would have time to clear her thoughts.

Now, she was almost back at the Cullen household. As she continued walking, the stench of the leeches grew stronger. _'They smell so disgusting.'_

Finally, after a few more minutes, Leah reached the house. She hurried up the front steps of the porch and entered the house, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She'd never be able to get over it.

Leah entered the living room, where they'd been reading the ever-so dreadfully _boring _book, only to find it nearly empty. She spotted her brother and Blondie's arm candy playing on the Xbox. They were shouting and being annoying boys.

"Where is everyone?" Leah spoke.

Seth barely glanced at her. "Break time."

'_So the leeches went hunting,' _Leah thought in disgust, crossing her arms. She noticed that all her fellow shape-shifters and their imprintees were gone, too. Her mother and Billy were gone as well.

"Where is mom?"

"She's out in the back with Billy."

Leah nodded her head and started moving for the back door.

Seth spoke again without looking at her, "The others are there, too."

'_Great...' _Leah groaned. She instead chose to sit down in her original spot. She'd just have to wait.

**~T~**

After what felt like hours, everyone finally returned to the living room.

As Sam and Emily entered the living room, Leah ignored them both, refusing to look at them.

"Who wants to read the next chapter?" Sarabella spoke once everyone was back in their spots. She was holding the book open to the fourth chapter.

"I will." Esme volunteered.

Sarabella got up, walked over to Esme and handed her the book, then returned to her seat.

"**Gesture**," Esme said.

**The wedding flowed into the reception party smoothly – proof of Alice's flawless planning. It was just twilight over the river; the ceremony had lasted exactly the right amount of time, allowing the sun to set behind the trees. The lights in the trees glimmered as Edward led me through the glass back doors, making the white flowers glow. There were another ten thousand flowers out here, serving as a fragrant, airy tent over the dance floor set up on the grass under two ancient cedars.**

"It really was beautiful." Bella smiled.

Sarabella nodded her head. "It was." She agreed. "I've seen multiple pictures."

**Things slowed down, relaxed as the mellow August evening surrounded us. The little crowd spread out under the soft shine of the twinkle lights, and we were greeted again by the friends we'd just embraced. There was time to talk now, to laugh.**

**"Congrats, guys," Seth Clearwater told us, ducking his head under the edge of a flower garland. His mother, Sue, was tight by his side, eyeing the guests with wary intensity.**

Bella looked over at Sue. She was sitting in one of the blue armchairs Esme had brought up from the basement. Sitting beside her armchair – in his wheelchair – was Billy. Both of them were looking very wary, glancing around the witnesses. Bella could tell that Sue and Billy were displeased; it probably had something to do with the fact that they were now forced to trust the Cullens in case anything went wrong with the witnesses… not that anything would actually happen.

'_If everything goes well between Charlie and Sue… there might be another wedding a few years…' _Bella couldn't help but think. Though, of course, she didn't say this out loud. She didn't want Leah freaking out.

**Her face was thin and fierce, an expression that was accented by her short, severe hairstyle; it was as short as her daughter Leah's – I wondered if she'd cut it the same way in a show of solidarity. **

Leah looked at her mother. That was exactly why they both had their hair short.

**Billy Black, on Seth's other side, was not as tense as Sue.**

**When I looked at Jacob's father, I always felt like I was seeing two people rather than just one. **

Billy was now looking curious.

**There was the old man in the wheelchair with the lined face and the white smile that everyone else saw. And then there was the direct descendant of a long line of powerful, magical chieftains, cloaked in the authority he'd been born with. Though the magic had – in the absence of a catalyst – skipped his generation, Billy was still a part of the power and the legend. **

"That is an interesting description, Bella." Billy spoke.

Bella gave Billy a light smile. "It's the feeling I get around you."

**It flowed straight through him. It flowed to his son, the heir to the magic, who had turned his back on it. That left Sam Uley to act as the chief of legends and magic now...**

'_Key word in that sentence is "act"…' _Jacob thought. After all, Sam could never truly be the Alpha.

**Billy seemed oddly at ease considering the company and the event – his black eyes sparkled like he'd gotten some good news. I was impressed by his composure. This wedding must have seemed a very bad thing, the worst thing that could happen to his best friend's daughter, in Billy's eyes.**

"I understand that clearly." Edward said to Billy, nodding his head.

Bella leaned closer to Edward and whispered lowly, "What was he thinking?"

"Billy said he was sorry, but that no matter what, his opinion would've never changed and that it would _always _be Jacob." Edward whispered back.

Bella understood what Edward was saying right away. Billy was referring to the love triangle that had been going on between her, Edward, and Jacob. Bella knew that Billy had been annoyed and angry with Bella for the pain she'd put Jacob through – and if she could change it, she certainly would.

Jacob looked at them curiously, but didn't say anything.

**I knew it wasn't easy for him to restrain his feelings, considering the challenge this event foreshadowed to the ancient treaty between the Cullens and the Quileutes – the treaty that prohibited the Cullens from ever creating another vampire. **

"You allow a bunch of filthy mongrels to dictate what you do." Randall said, looking at the Cullens.

Jared narrowed his eyes at Randall. "Shut your mouth, you undead freak."

Randall hissed at Jared, his crimson red eyes flashing with a deadly glint. Then suddenly, Edward was on his feet and across the room, just in time to push Randall back into his seat. Bella followed closely along behind him, ready to help if needed.

"You _will not _attack them." Edward said. His tone of voice was frightening.

"That furball –" Randall began.

"They are our allies. _No attacking_."

"_Fine_." Randall agreed, though rather reluctantly.

Edward then looked over at Sam and said, "Keep your pack members under control."

Sam didn't like being told what to do by a bloodsucker, but he knew it would not be the best idea to start another argument. Instead, he simply nodded his head and looked at Jared. "Jared! Don't let your temper get out of check!"

"_Okay_…" Jared growled, scowling.

Edward and Bella returned to their seats.

**The wolves knew a breach was coming, but the Cullens had no idea how they would react. Before the alliance, it would have meant an immediate attack. A war. But now that they knew each other better, would there be forgiveness instead?**

Leah crossed her arms. If Bella hadn't been pregnant and had been turned instead, she would've been all in for killing her.

Edward twitched in annoyance when he heard Leah's thought.

**As if in response to that thought, Seth leaned toward Edward, arms extended. Edward returned the hug with his free arm.**

**I saw Sue shudder delicately.**

**"It's good to see things work out for you, man," Seth said. "I'm happy for you."**

**"Thank you, Seth. That means a lot to me." Edward pulled away from Seth and looked at Sue and Billy. "Thank you, as well. For letting Seth come. For supporting Bella today."**

**"You're welcome," Billy said in his deep, gravelly voice, and I was surprised at the optimism in his tone. Perhaps a stronger truce was on the horizon.**

The shape-shifters – Sam's pack – didn't look in the direction of the Cullens. Yes, they had worked together… but that didn't mean anything. The only thing that was currently holding the shape-shifters and the Cullens together were Jacob and Renesmee.

**A bit of a line was forming, so Seth waved goodbye and wheeled Billy toward the food. Sue kept one hand on each of them.**

**Angela and Ben were the next to claim us,**

'_Maybe… after everything… I should reconnect with Angela…' _Bella thought.

Edward seemed to guess what Bella was thinking and said, "You should talk to her again, love. Angela _is _good. Her thoughts are pure and kind, and she has a very gentle nature."

Bella nodded her head. It was decided then. She and Angela would have to get together to hang out sometime in the future.

**followed by Angela's parents and then Mike and Jessica – who were, to my surprise, holding hands. I hadn't heard that they were together again. That was nice.**

Edward was now scowling at the mention of Mike and Jessica. He most definitely didn't like either of them.

**Behind my human friends were my new cousins-in-law, the Denali vampire clan. **

Though they didn't say anything, the Denalis were glad to know that Bella had already considered them family at that point.

**I realized I was holding my breath as the vampire in front – Tanya, I assumed from the strawberry tint in her blond curls – reached out to embrace Edward. Next to her, three other vampires with golden eyes stared at me with open curiosity. One woman had long, pale blond hair, straight as corn silk. The other woman and the man beside her were both black-haired, with a hint of an olive tone to their chalky complexions.**

**And they were all four so beautiful that it made my stomach hurt.**

Carmen smiled at Bella. "Thank you." She said. "You are very beautiful too, Isabella."

**Tanya was still holding Edward.**

"Putting the moves on a married man…" Emmett tsked. "Shame on you, Tanya."

Tanya rolled her eyes.

**"Ah, Edward," she said. "I've missed you."**

**Edward chuckled and deftly maneuvered out of the hug, placing his hand lightly on her shoulder and stepping back, as if to get a better look at her. "It's been too long, Tanya. You look well."**

**"So do you."**

**"Let me introduce you to my wife." It was the first time Edward had said that word since it was officially true; he seemed like he would explode with satisfaction saying it now.**

"I was _so _incredibly happy that you were mine." Edward told Bella lovingly.

"I was _always _yours."

**The Denalis all laughed lightly in response. "Tanya, this is my Bella."**

Tanya laughed. "The message came in loud and clear, Edward."

Edward gave her a friendly smile.

**Tanya was every bit as lovely as my worst nightmares had predicted. She eyed me with a look that was much more speculative than it was resigned, and then reached out to take my hand.**

"I was very curious to meet you." Tanya informed Bella. "I wanted to meet the girl who'd captured Edward's heart."

**"Welcome to the family, Bella." She smiled, a little rueful. "We consider ourselves Carlisle's extended family, and I **_**am**_** sorry about the, er, recent incident when we did not behave as such. We should have met you sooner. Can you forgive us?"**

**"Of course," I said breathlessly. "It's so nice to meet you."**

**"The Cullens are all evened up in numbers now. Perhaps it will be our turn next, eh, Kate?" She grinned at the blonde.**

Kate was once again sitting on Garrett's lap. She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled.

**"Keep the dream alive," Kate said with a roll of her golden eyes. She took my hand from Tanya's and squeezed it gently. "Welcome, Bella."**

**The dark-haired woman put her hand on top of Kate's. "I'm Carmen, this is Eleazar. We're all so very pleased to finally meet you."**

**"M-me, too," I stuttered.**

**Tanya glanced at the people waiting behind her – Charlie's deputy, Mark, and his wife. Their eyes were huge as they took in the Denali clan.**

Tanya laughed a little. Humans had such an amusing reaction to them.

**"We'll get to know each other later. We'll have **_**eons**_** of time for that!" Tanya laughed as she and her family moved on.**

**All the standard traditions were kept. I was blinded by flashbulbs as we held the knife over a spectacular cake – too grand, I thought, for our relatively intimate group of friends and family. **

Bella realized something and looked over at Edward. "How did the light from the flashbulbs feel for your eyes?"

"Terrible…" Edward admitted. A few of the vampires chuckled.

**We took turns shoving cake in each other's faces; Edward manfully swallowed his portion as I watched in disbelief.**

Edward grimaced as he remembered how _disgusting _the cake had tasted.

**I threw my bouquet with atypical skill, right into Angela's surprised hands. Emmett and Jasper howled with laughter at my blush while Edward removed my borrowed garter – which I'd shimmied down nearly to my ankle – **_**very **_**carefully with his teeth.**

Bella groaned and buried her face in Edward's shoulder. She didn't want to look anyone else in the eyes.

**With a quick wink at me, he shot it straight into Mike Newton's face.**

**And when the music started, Edward pulled me into his arms for the customary first dance; I went willingly, despite my fear of dancing – especially dancing in front of an audience – just happy to have him holding me. He did all the work, and I twirled effortlessly under the glow of a canopy of lights and the bright flashes from the cameras.**

**"Enjoying the party, Mrs. Cullen?" he whispered in my ear.**

**I laughed. "That will take a while to get used to."**

**"We have a while," he reminded me, his voice exultant, and he leaned down to kiss me while we danced. Cameras clicked feverishly.**

Leah rolled her eyes – something which she knew she'd be doing _a lot _throughout the rest of this book. The Cullens just made _so many _references about how they'd have _forever_. It was all cliché and stupid… or at least to Leah it was.

**The music changed, and Charlie tapped on Edward's shoulder.**

**It wasn't nearly as easy to dance with Charlie. He was no better at it than I was, so we moved safely from side to side in a tiny square formation. Edward and Esme spun around us like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.**

**"I'm going to miss you at home, Bella. I'm already lonely."**

**I spoke through a tight throat, trying to make a joke of it. "I feel just horrible, leaving you to cook for yourself – it's practically criminal negligence. You could arrest me."**

'_Charlie won't be alone. He has Sue now.' _Bella had to remind herself.

**He grinned. "I suppose I'll survive the food. Just call me whenever you can."**

**"I promise."**

**It seemed like I danced with everyone. It was good to see all my old friends, but I really wanted to be with Edward more than anything else. I was happy when he finally cut in, just half a minute after a new dance started.**

**"Still not that fond of Mike, eh?" I commented as Edward whirled me away from him.**

**"Not when I have to listen to his thoughts. He's lucky I didn't kick him out. Or worse."**

"I _really _wanted to kick him out." Edward grumbled.

Bella laughed. "It doesn't matter now. Mike is no concern of ours."

**"Yeah, right."**

**"Have you had a chance to look at yourself?"**

**"Urn. No, I guess not. Why?"**

**"Then I suppose you don't realize how utterly, heart-breakingly beautiful you are tonight. I'm not surprised Mike's having difficulty with improper thoughts about a married woman. I **_**am**_** disappointed that Alice didn't make sure you were forced to look in a mirror."**

**"You are very biased, you know."**

**He sighed and then paused and turned me around to face the house. The wall of glass reflected the party back like a long mirror. Edward pointed to the couple in the mirror directly across from us.**

**"Biased, am I?"**

**I caught just a glimpse of Edward's reflection – a perfect duplicate of his perfect face – with a dark-haired beauty at his side. Her skin was cream and roses, her eyes were huge with excitement and framed with thick lashes. The narrow sheath of the shimmering white dress flared out subtly at the train almost like an inverted calla lily, cut so skillfully that her body looked elegant and graceful – while it was motionless, at least.**

"_So beautiful_…" Edward murmured, locking his and Bella's hands together, and leaning over to kiss her forehead.

**Before I could blink and make the beauty turn back into me, Edward suddenly stiffened and turned automatically in the other direction, as if someone had called his name.**

Jacob grinned. "I didn't exactly say his name…."

"What exactly did you say…?" Bella questioned.

"Things that would be _very _inappropriate to say." Jacob said. He gestured to Renesmee – she was sitting with Rosalie – and Claire.

**"Oh!" he said. His brow furrowed for an instant and then smoothed out just as quickly.**

**Suddenly, he was smiling a brilliant smile.**

**"What is it?" I asked.**

**"A surprise wedding gift."**

Bella squeezed Edward's hand. "I still can't believe you invited him for me." She told him very quietly so Jacob wouldn't hear. "It must've been hard for you."

"It was." Edward admitted to her. "But it was for _you_."

**"Huh?"**

**He didn't answer; he just started dancing again, spinning me the opposite way we'd been headed before, away from the lights and then into the deep swath of night that ringed the luminous dance floor.**

**He didn't pause until we reached the dark side of one of the huge cedars. Then Edward looked straight into the blackest shadow.**

**"Thank you," Edward said to the darkness. "This is very... kind of you."**

**"Kind is my middle name," a husky familiar voice answered from the black night. "Can I cut in?"**

**My hand flew up to my throat, and if Edward hadn't been holding me I would have collapsed.**

**"Jacob!" I choked as soon as I could breathe. "Jacob!"**

"You _truly _love her." Mary commented, looking over at Edward. Even though they'd only read three chapters and were now on the fourth, it was quite clear to Mary that there had once been a strained love triangle between Bella, Edward, and the mutt.

"I'd do _anything _for Bella." Edward declared.

Bella instantly said, "And I'd do _anything _for you, too."

**"Hey there, Bells."**

**I stumbled toward the sound of his voice. Edward kept his grip under my elbow until another set of strong hands caught me in the darkness. The heat from Jacob's skin burned right through the thin satin dress as he pulled me close. He made no effort to dance; he just hugged me while I buried my face in his chest. He leaned down to press his cheek to the top of my head.**

Renesmee pressed her hand against Rosalie's cheek, imagining the scene that was just read. Her thoughts were full of confusion.

Rosalie reassuringly patted Renesmee's cheek and quietly said, "It's okay."

**"Rosalie won't forgive me if she doesn't get her official turn on the dance floor," Edward murmured, and I knew he was leaving us, giving me a gift of his own – this moment with Jacob.**

'_Pathetic excuse,' _Rosalie directed her thoughts towards Edward.

**"Oh, Jacob." I was crying now; I couldn't get the words out clearly. "Thank you."**

**"Stop blubbering, Bella. You'll ruin your dress. It's just me."**

**"Just? Oh, Jake! Everything is perfect now."**

**He snorted. "Yeah – the party can start. The best man finally made it."**

**"Now **_**everyone**_** I love is here."**

**I felt his lips brush my hair. "Sorry I'm late, honey."**

Edward couldn't help but wince.

**"I'm just so happy you came!"**

**"That was the idea."**

**I glanced toward the guests, but I couldn't see through the dancers to the spot where I'd last seen Jacob's father. I didn't know if he'd stayed. "Does Billy know you're here?" As soon as I asked, I knew that he must have – it was the only way to explain his uplifted expression before.**

**"I'm sure Sam's told him. I'll go see him when... when the party's over."**

**"He'll be so glad you're home."**

"I am sorry…" Jacob began.

Billy just shook his head. "It's okay, son."

**Jacob pulled back a little bit and straightened up. He left one hand on the small of my back and grabbed my right hand with the other. He cradled our hands to his chest; I could feel his heart beat under my palm, and I guessed that he hadn't placed my hand there accidentally.**

Jacob grinned sheepishly.

**"I don't know if I get more than just this one dance," he said, and he began pulling me around in a slow circle that didn't match the tempo of the music coming from behind us. "I'd better make the best of it."**

**We moved to the rhythm of his heart under my hand.**

**"I'm glad I came," Jacob said quietly after a moment. "I didn't think I would be. But it's good to see you... one more time. Not as sad as I'd thought it would be."**

**"I don't want you to feel sad."**

**"I know that. And I didn't come tonight to make you feel guilty."**

**"No – it makes me very happy that you came. It's the best gift you could have given me."**

"You _were _a terrible liar." Jacob told Bella.

"What…?" Bella said, looking puzzled.

Jacob shook his head. "I could tell that you _did _feel guilty."

"_Oh_…" Bella realized. She then sighed. "I _thought _I hid it from you."

**He laughed. "That's good, because I didn't have time to stop for a real present."**

**My eyes were adjusting, and I could see his face now, higher up than I expected. Was it possible that he was still growing? He had to be closer to seven feet than to six. It was a relief to see him familiar features again after all this time – his deep-set eyes shadowed under his shaggy black brows, his high cheekbones, his full lips stretched over his bright teeth in the sarcastic smile that matched his tone. **

Jacob's gaze wondered over to his son from the future – he'd honestly never get over that – and he was once again shocked at how much E.J looked like him _and _Edward. It was very… well… Jacob couldn't actually find a word to describe it.

**His eyes were tight around the edges – careful; I could see that he was being **_**very **_**careful tonight. He was doing all he could to make to make me happy, to not slip and show how much this cost him.**

"You are too good at reading people, Bells." Jacob said, shaking his head.

Bella just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't think she was.

**I'd never done anything good enough to deserve a friend like Jacob.**

"Bella –" Jacob began.

"I know, I know." Bella cut him off.

**"When did you decide to come back?"**

**"Consciously or subconsciously?" He took a deep breath before he answered his own question. "I don't really know. I guess I've been wandering back this direction for a while, and maybe it's because I was headed here. But it wasn't until this morning that I really started **_**running**_**. I didn't know if I could make it." He laughed. "You wouldn't believe how weird this feels – walking around on two legs again. And clothes! And then it's more bizarre **_**because **_**it feels weird. I didn't expect that. I'm out of practice with the whole human thing."**

Leah understood pretty well that Jacob meant. When she, Jacob, and Seth had been guarding the Cullens, she'd stayed in her wolf-form for _so _long. And finally, when she'd gone back to being human, everything had felt incredibly weird for her.

**We revolved steadily.**

**"It would have been a shame to miss seeing you like this, though. That's worth the trip right there. You look unbelievable, Bella. So beautiful."**

**"Alice invested a lot of time in me today. The dark helps, too."**

**"It's not so dark for me, you know."**

**"Right." Werewolf senses. It was easy to forget all the things he could do, he seemed so human. Especially right now.**

"Well... that's because the shape-shifters are practically human." Sarabella couldn't help but say.

All the vampires turned to look at Sarabella. They all looked pretty curious.

"Um, you see… you will just remain human if your shape-shifter gene isn't triggered." Sarabella started to explain, while ignoring the glare Jared was giving her. "And even when the gene is active, you can control when you phase, most of the time… your senses and strength is _way _better than that of an average human, but they aren't better than a vampires; the only time you can rival a vampire is when you are in your wolf form. And if you move away from vampires, imprint on a human, _or _get your phasing perfectly under control, you can actually stop phasing and age normally." She then paused and added, "So... shape-shifters _are _basically human."

"That's all rather interesting." Carlisle mused. He glanced at Sarabella and E.J. "You have both phased, right?"

Sarabella and E.J nodded their heads.

"At what age did you phase?"

"Umm…" Sarabella was blushing.

E.J rolled his eyes at Sarabella and then said, "We were _both _born in half-and-half forms, and then we both phased for the first time at the age of five."

"Half-and-half forms…?" Bella said. She was looking very curious.

"We… were both born with wolf ears, a tail, and sharp nails." Sarabella said, looking slightly embarrassed. "We don't really know why though…"

"And we can still change into our half-and-half forms." E.J added.

Carlisle looked like he was deep in thought. "I wonder why…"

"Well, you said it might have something to do with us being human, vampire, and shape-shifter." E.J supplied for Carlisle. "You've said that Sarabella and I are like one of nature's loopholes because vampires can't have children and m– Renesmee is half-vampire."

"That makes sense." Edward nodded his head.

Sam joined the conversation, asking, "Is there anything different for you two when you phase?"

"E.J and I can sort of block our minds from the others in our pack." Sarabella answered. "And when we phase, it becomes kind of difficult for gr- Edward to read the minds of everyone in our pack; he says it has something to do with being connected to our minds. Also, E.J and I can use our abilities through the mind link…" She then said, "It's all weird… and because E.J and I are the first of our kind, there is nothing to go on really."

Edward looked over at Esme. "We should probably continue reading."

Esme nodded her head and resumed reading…

**"You cut your hair," I noted.**

**"Yeah. Easier, you know. Thought I'd better take advantage of the hands."**

**"It looks good," I lied.**

Jacob laughed. "I don't even know why you bothered with that lie, Bells. We both knew it was terrible."

Bella also laughed.

**He snorted. "Right. I did it myself, with rusty kitchen shears." He grinned widely for a moment, and then his smile faded. His expression turned serious. "Are you happy, Bella?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Okay." I felt his shoulders shrug. "That's the main thing, I guess."**

**"How are you, Jacob? Really?"**

**"I'm fine, Bella, really. You don't need to worry about me anymore. You can stop bugging Seth."**

**"I'm not just bugging him because of you. I **_**like**_** Seth."**

"Thanks, Bella."

**"He's a good kid. **

"I am not a kid." Seth automatically said.

"Yes, you are." Both Sue and Leah said at the same time.

**Better company than some. I tell you, if I could get rid of the voices in my head, being a wolf would be about perfect."**

**I laughed at the way it sounded. "Yeah, I can't get mine to shut up, either."**

**"In your case, that would mean you're insane. Of course, I already knew that you were insane," he teased.**

"While reading this book so far… we've already discovered how embarrassing, dirty minded, and insane my little sis is." Emmett grinned.

Bella sighed, shaking her head. "I am most definitely _not _dirty minded, Em."

**"Thanks."**

**"Insanity is probably easier than sharing a pack mind. Crazy people's voices don't send babysitters to watch them."**

Sarabella and E.J both had to agree that sharing a pack mind was difficult. They could not always block the others out because it took _a lot _of concentration and energy to do.

**"Huh?"**

**"Sam's out there. And some of the others. Just in case, you know."**

**"In case of what?"**

**"In case I can't keep it together, something like that. In case I decide to trash the party." He flashed a quick smile at what was probably an appealing thought to him. "But I'm not here to ruin your wedding, Bella. I'm here to…" He trailed off.**

"Not that Alice would've let you trash the wedding, Fido." Rosalie said casually.

Jacob rolled his eyes.

**"To make it perfect." **

**"That's a tall order."**

**"Good thing you're so tall."**

Emmett was shaking his head. "Pathetic…"

**He groaned at my bad joke and then sighed. "I'm just here to be your friend. Your best friend, one last time."**

**"Sam should give you more credit."**

**"Well, maybe I'm being oversensitive. Maybe they'd be here anyway, to keep an eye on Seth. There are **_**a lot**_** of vampires here. Seth doesn't take that as seriously as he should."**

"I wasn't in any danger." Seth said.

Sue looked like she wanted to protest, though she didn't.

**"Seth knows that he's not in any danger. He understands the Cullens better than Sam does."**

**"Sure, sure," Jacob said, making peace before it could turn into a fight.**

**It was strange to have him being the diplomat.**

**"Sorry about those voices," I said. "Wish I could make it better." In so many ways.**

**"It's not that bad. I'm just whining a little."**

'_What a lie.' _Leah thought with a snort.

**"You're... happy?"**

**"Close enough. But enough about me. You're the star today." He chuckled. "I bet you're just **_**loving**_** that. Center of attention."**

**"Yeah. Can't get enough attention."**

**He laughed and then stared over my head. With pursed lips, he studied the shimmering glow of the reception party, the graceful whirl of the dancers, the fluttering petals falling from the garlands; I looked with him. It all seemed very distant from this black, quiet space. Almost like watching the white flurries swirling inside a snow globe.**

**"I'll give them this much," he said. "They know how to throw a party."**

**"Alice is an unstoppable force of nature."**

"No kidding."

**He sighed. "Song's over. Do you think I get another one? Or is that asking too much?"**

**I tightened my hand around his. "You can have as many dances as you want."**

**He laughed. "That would be interesting. I think I'd better stick with two, though. Don't want to start talk."**

Edward rolled his eyes.

**We turned in another circle.**

**"You'd think I'd be used to telling you goodbye by now," he murmured.**

"That's because you never actually _leave_, wolf." Rosalie muttered very quietly.

**I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but I couldn't force it down.**

**Jacob looked at me and frowned. He wiped his fingers across my cheek, catching the tears there.**

**"You're not supposed to be the one crying, Bella." **

**"Everyone cries at weddings," I said thickly.**

Renesmee was very curious as to why her mother and _her _Jacob were acting like this.

**"This is what you want, right?"**

**"Right."**

**"Then smile."**

**I tried. He laughed at my grimace.**

**"I'm going to try to remember you like this. Pretend that..."**

**"That what? That I died?"**

**He clenched his teeth. He was struggling with himself – with his decision to make his presence here a gift and not a judgment. I could guess what he wanted to say.**

**"No," he finally answered. "But I'll see you this way in my head. Pink cheeks. Heartbeat. Two left feet. All of that."**

"I don't have two left feet anymore." Bella said happily.

"That's right, love." Edward said, kissing Bella's cheek. "You are _very _graceful… even for a vampire."

**I deliberately stomped on his foot as hard as I could.**

**He smiled. "That's my girl."**

**He started to say something else and then snapped his mouth closed. Struggling again, teeth gritted against the words he didn't want to say. **

**My relationship with Jacob used to be so easy. Natural as breathing. But since Edward had come back into my life, it was a constant strain. Because – in Jacob's eyes – by choosing Edward, I was choosing a fate that was worse than death, or at least equivalent to it.**

"Before I thought it was a fate worth than death, but now I see the truth." Jacob admitted to Bella. "You were born to be a vampire, Bells."

Bella nodded her head. "I know. I was."

**"What is it, Jake? Just tell me. You can tell me anything."**

**"I – I... I don't have anything to tell you."**

"You sounded like me, Jake." Bella told Jacob, laughing a little.

**"Oh please. Spit it out."**

**"It's true. It's not... it's – it's a question. It's something I want **_**you**_** to tell **_**me**_**."**

**"Ask me."**

**He struggled for another minute and then exhaled. "I shouldn't. It doesn't matter. I'm just morbidly curious."**

**Because I knew him so well, I understood.**

**"It's not tonight, Jacob," I whispered.**

**Jacob was even more obsessed with my humanity than Edward. He treasured every one of my heartbeats, knowing that they were numbered.**

Edward looked at Jacob. Even he had to admit that this statement was true. Jacob _had _been more obsessed with Bella's humanity than he had… and that was because Jacob had understood Bella's humanity.

**"Oh," he said, trying to smother his relief. "Oh."**

**A new song started playing, but he didn't notice the change this time.**

**"When?" he whispered.**

**"I don't know for sure. A week or two, maybe."**

"Or maybe longer…"

**His voice changed, took on a defensive, mocking edge. "What's the holdup?"**

**"I just didn't want to spend my honeymoon writhing in pain."**

**"You'd rather spend it how? Playing checkers? Ha ha."**

"Or chess." Bella grinned at Edward.

**"Very funny."**

**"Kidding, Bells. But, honestly, I don't see the point. You can't have a real honeymoon with your vampire, so why go through the motions? Call a spade a spade. This isn't the first time you've put this off. That's a **_**good **_**thing, though," he said, suddenly earnest. "Don't be embarrassed about it."**

**"I'm not putting anything off," I snapped. "And **_**yes**_** I can have a real honeymoon! I can do anything I want! Butt out!"**

"I'm not trying to be rude or anything…" Kate said. "But attempting to have a _real _honeymoon was probably a very unwise choice."

"I know it was." Bella admitted. "However… I wanted _every _human experience… and that was part of it."

**He stopped our slow circling abruptly. For a moment, I wondered if he'd finally noticed the music change, and I scrambled in my head for a way to patch up our little tiff before he said goodbye to me. We shouldn't part on this note.**

**And then his eyes bulged wide with a strange kind of confused horror.**

**"What?" he gasped. "What did you say?"**

**"About what...? Jake? What's wrong?"**

**"What do you mean? Have a real honeymoon? While you're still **_**human**_**? Are you kidding? That's a sick joke, Bella!"**

**I glared at him. "I said butt out, Jake. This is **_**so**_** not your business. I shouldn't have... we shouldn't even be talking about this. It's private –" **

'_I shouldn't have even mentioned it…' _Bella thought.

**His enormous hands gripped the tops of my arms, wrapping all the way around, fingers overlapping.**

**"Ow, Jake! Let go!"**

**He shook me.**

**"Bella! Have you lost your mind? You can't be that stupid! Tell me you're joking!"**

**He shook me again. His hands, tight as tourniquets, were quivering, sending vibrations deep into my bones.**

**"Jake – stop!"**

"Bells…"

Bella cut Jacob off, glaring at him. "You don't have to apologize. Besides, it wasn't your entire fault. It was my fault, too."

**The darkness was suddenly very crowded.**

**"Take your hands off her!" Edward's voice was cold as ice, sharp as razors.**

**Behind Jacob, there was a low snarl from the black night, and then another, overlapping the first.**

**"Jake, bro, back away," I heard Seth Clearwater urge. "You're losing it."**

"I was actually listening to your conversation…" Seth said, looking slightly embarrassed. "I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened…"

"That's okay, Seth. It was a good thing you were listening." Jacob waved off Seth's apology.

**Jacob seemed frozen as he was, his horrified eyes wide and staring.**

**"You'll hurt her," Seth whispered. "Let her go."**

**"Now!" Edward snarled.**

**Jacob's hands dropped to his sides, and the sudden gush of blood through my waiting veins was almost painful. Before I could register more than that, cold hands replaced the hot ones, and the air was suddenly whooshing past me.**

**I blinked, and I was on my feet a half dozen feet away from where I'd been standing. Edward was tensed in front of me. There were two enormous wolves braced between him and Jacob, but they did not seem aggressive to me. More like they were trying to prevent the fight.**

"Yes, yes." Emmett said, nodding his head. "If there were a fight, I'm sure the guests _would _notice. And we also don't want to kill anyone."

Rosalie rolled her eyes at Emmett and shifted Renesmee on her lap so she could slap him.

**And Seth – gangly, fifteen-year-old Seth – had his long arms around Jacob's shaking body, and he was tugging him away. If Jacob phased with Seth so close...**

Sam clenched his fists, remembering when he phased to close to Emily…

"It's okay," Emily whispered reassuringly. She took Sam's hand in hers, squeezing it. "I love you, Sam."

"I love you, too."

**"C'mon, Jake. Let's go."**

**"I'll kill you," Jacob said, his voice so choked with rage that it was low as a whisper. His eyes, focused on Edward, burned with fury. "I'll kill you myself! I'll do it now!" He shuddered convulsively.**

"I wouldn't have phased… not with you so close to me, Seth." Jacob said with a sure voice.

**The biggest wolf, the black one, growled sharply.**

**"Seth, get out of the way," Edward hissed.**

Sue shifted nervously. Though she knew Seth hadn't been harmed… reading this made her worry-filled and anxious.

**Seth tugged on Jacob again. Jacob was so bewildered with rage that Seth was able to yank him a few feet farther back. "Don't do it, Jake. Walk away. C'mon."**

**Sam – the bigger wolf, the black one – joined Seth then. He put his massive head against Jacob's chest and shoved.**

**The three of them – Seth towing, Jake trembling, Sam pushing – disappeared swiftly into the darkness.**

**The other wolf stared after them. I wasn't sure, in the weak light, about the color of his fur – chocolate brown, maybe? Was it Quil, then?**

"It was me." Quil confirmed.

**"I'm sorry," I whispered to the wolf.**

**"It's all right now, Bella," Edward murmured.**

**The wolf looked at Edward. His gaze was not friendly. Edward gave him one cold nod. The wolf huffed and then turned to follow the others, vanishing as they had.**

**"All right," Edward said to himself, and then he looked at me. "Let's get back."**

**"But Jake –"**

**"Sam has him in hand. He's gone."**

**"Edward, I'm so sorry. I was stupid –"**

**"You did nothing wrong –"**

"You really did do nothing wrong, love." Edward said.

Bella shook her head. "I really _should not _have told him."

"No… you shouldn't have," Jacob agreed on that. "But I shouldn't have pushed you."

**"I have such a big mouth! Why would I... I shouldn't have let him get to me like that. What was I thinking?"**

**"Don't worry." He touched my face. "We need to get back to the reception before someone notices our absence."**

**I shook my head, trying to reorient myself. Before someone noticed? Had anyone **_**missed **_**that?**

"I almost came over. I wanted a good fight." Emmett said honestly.

Edward gave Emmett a half-glare, of the sorts. "And it was good you actually _listened _to me and stayed away."

**Then, as I thought about it, I realized the confrontation that had seemed so catastrophic to me had, in reality, been very quiet and short here in the shadows.**

"That's because the confrontation involved people you love and care about." Maggie pointed out. "So it seemed like _much more _than it actually was."

'_That sounds about right.' _Bella thought.

**"Give me two seconds," I pleaded.**

**My insides were chaotic with panic and grief, but that didn't matter – only the outside mattered right now. Putting on a good show was something I knew I had to master.**

**"My dress?"**

**"You look fine. Not a hair out of place."**

"Alice would freak if something was out of place."

**I took two deep breaths. "Okay. Let's go."**

**I glanced around at the guests, but no one seemed shocked or frightened. Only the very palest faces there showed any signs of stress, and they hid it well. Jasper and Emmett were on the edge of the floor, close together, and I guessed that they had been nearby during the confrontation.**

"We were hoping for a fight to take place." Kate said truthfully, and Tanya nodded her head. "We wanted some kind of excuse to get back at the wolves."

Jared glared at them when they said this.

"It is fine, Tanya, Kate." Carlisle told them.

**"Are you –"**

**"I'm fine," I promised. "I can't believe I did that. What's wrong with me?"**

**"Nothing is wrong with **_**you.**_**"**

**I'd been so glad to see Jacob here. I knew the sacrifice it had taken him. And then I'd ruined it, turned his gift into a disaster. I should be quarantined.**

"I wasn't your fault, Bella." Jacob sighed. "I let my emotions run wild."

"Jacob –"

"Don't bother with it, Bella."

**But my idiocy would not ruin anything else tonight. I would put this away, shove it in a drawer and lock it up to deal with later. There would be plenty of time to flagellate myself for this, and nothing I could do now would help.**

**"It's over," I said. "Let's not think of it again tonight."**

**I expected a quick agreement from Edward, but he was silent.**

"Never a good sign with Eddie."

**"Edward?"**

**He closed his eyes and touched his forehead to mine. "Jacob is right," he whispered. **

"Never thought I'd hear that." Jacob grinned.

"And you won't ever hear it again." Edward told him.

**"What **_**am **_**I thinking?"**

**"He is not." I tried to keep my face smooth for the watching crowd of friends. "Jacob is way too prejudiced to see anything clearly."**

Jacob didn't protest this because it was true.

**He mumbled something low that sounded almost like "**_**should**_** let him kill me for even thinking ..."**

**"Stop it," I said fiercely. I grabbed his face in my hands and waited until he opened his eyes. "You and me. That's the only thing that matters. The only thing you're allowed to think about now. Do you hear me?"**

**"Yes," he sighed.**

**"Forget Jacob came." I could do that. I **_**would**_** do that. "For me. Promise that you'll let this go.**

**He stared into my eyes for a moment before answering. "I promise."**

**"Thank you. Edward, I'm not afraid."**

**"I am," he whispered.**

"Eddie is afraid…" Emmett pretended to gasp. "How unheard of,"

Bella resisted the urge to face-palm. "Really, Emmett…"

Edward, on the other hand, just chose to glare at Emmett. Bella knew he'd get back at Emmett somehow later – he was good at that.

**"Don't be." I took deep breath and smiled. "By the way, I love you."**

**He smiled just a little in return. "That's why we're here."**

"Unless she was just marrying you for sex…." Emmett said casually.

"Emmett." Esme frowned in disapproval.

"I was just throwing it out there."

**"You're monopolizing the bride," Emmett said, coming up behind Edward's shoulder. "Let me dance with my little sister. This could be my last chance to make her blush." He laughed loudly, as unaffected as he usually was by any serious atmosphere.**

Though Emmett could be annoying _a lot _of the time, his ability to defuse any serious atmosphere or situation was sometimes very handy.

**It turned out there were actually lots of people I hadn't danced with yet, and that gave me a chance to truly compose and resolve myself. When Edward claimed me again, I found that the Jacob-drawer was shut nice and tight. As he wrapped his arms around me, I was able to unearth my earlier sense of joy, my certainty that everything in my life was in the right place tonight. I smiled and laid my head against his chest. His arms tightened.**

**"I could get used to this," I said.**

**"Don't tell me you've gotten over your dancing issues?"**

"I have now." Bella said. She sounded proud.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "By cheating," he said. "You're a vampire, you can't be clumsy."

**"Dancing isn't so bad – with you. **

"That's because Edward did all the dancing."

**But I was thinking more of this," – and I pressed myself to him even tighter – "of never having to let you go."**

**"Never," he promised, and he leaned down to kiss me. **

**It was a serious kind of kiss – intense, slow but building...**

Quil was getting ready to cover Claire's ears…

**I'd pretty much forgotten where I was when I heard Alice call, "Bella! It's time!"**

**I felt a brief flicker of irritation with my new sister for the interruption.**

A few people laughed.

**Edward ignored her; his lips were hard against mine, more urgent than before. My heart broke into a sprint and my palms were slick against his marble neck.**

**"Do you want to miss your plane?" Alice demanded, right next to me now. "I'm sure you'll have a lovely honeymoon camped out in the airport waiting for another flight."**

Bella laughed. "That actually wouldn't have bothered me." She looked at Edward. "After all, I'd still be with you."

Edward quickly kissed Bella.

**Edward turned his face slightly to murmur, "Go away, Alice," and then pressed his lips to mine again.**

**"Bella, do you want to wear that dress on the airplane?" she demanded.**

**I wasn't really paying much attention. At the moment, I simply didn't care.**

**Alice growled quietly. "I'll tell her where you're taking her, Edward. So help me, I will."**

"Was she serious?" Bella asked.

"Of course," Edward replied. "Alice _never_ makes idle threats."

**He froze. Then he lifted his face from mine and glared at his favorite sister. "You're awfully small to be so hugely irritating."**

Again, people were laughing.

**"I didn't pick out the perfect going-away dress to have it wasted," she snapped back, taking my hand. "Come with me, Bella."**

"I didn't care about the dress. _Not one bit_."

**I tugged against her hold, stretching up on my toes to kiss him one more time. She jerked my arm impatiently, hauling me away from him. There were a few chuckles from the watching guests. I gave up then and let her lead me into the empty house.**

**She looked annoyed.**

**"Sorry, Alice," I apologized.**

**"I don't blame you, Bella." She sighed. "You don't seem to be able help yourself."**

**I giggled at her martyred expression, and she scowled.**

Jacob laughed at the "giggled" part. It was rare to ever see Bella _giggle_.

**"Thank you, Alice. It was the most beautiful wedding anyone ever had," I told her earnestly. "Everything was exactly right. You're the best, smartest, most talented sister in the whole world."**

**That thawed her out; she smiled a huge smile. "I'm glad you liked it."**

"There's not a single person who can say that Alice can't make a wedding _perfect_." Bella smiled.

**Renée and Esme were waiting upstairs. The three of them quickly had me out of my dress and into Alice's deep blue going-away ensemble. I was grateful when someone pulled the pins out of my hair and let it fall loose down my back, wavy from the braids, saving me from a hairpin headache later. My mother's tears streamed without a break the entire time.**

**"I'll call you when I know where I'm going," I promised as I hugged her goodbye. I knew the honeymoon secret was probably driving her crazy; my mother hated secrets, unless she was in on them.**

**"I'll tell you as soon as she's safely away," Alice outdid me, smirking at my wounded expression. How unfair, for me to be the last to know.**

"I was glad it stayed a surprise." Bella said. "It made my reaction all that better."

"I know you'd love the island." Edward told Bella quietly.

**"You have to visit me and Phil very, very soon. It's your turn to go south – see the sun for once," Renée said.**

**"It didn't rain today," I reminded her, avoiding her request.**

"Do we visit my mother?" Bella asked Sarabella E.J.

"We do." Sarabella said. "You and gr- Edward just stay inside. M – Renesmee, E.J, and I can all go outside."

Bella didn't mind that she couldn't go outside. She was just glad she could see her mother.

**"A miracle."**

**"Everything's ready," Alice said. "Your suitcases are in the car – Jasper's bringing it around." She pulled me back toward the stairs with Renee following, still halfway embracing me.**

**"I love you, Mom," I whispered as we descended. "I'm so glad you have Phil. Take care of each other." **

**"I love you, too, Bella, honey."**

**"Goodbye, Mom. I love you," I said again, my throat thick.**

**Edward was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I took his outstretched hand but leaned away, scanning the little crowd that was waiting to see us off.**

**"Dad?" I asked, my eyes searching.**

**"Over here," Edward murmured. He pulled me through the guests; they made a pathway for us. We found Charlie leaning awkwardly against the wall behind everyone else, looking a little like he was hiding. The red rims around his eyes explained why.**

Leah rolled her eyes. This chapter contained so much crying.

**"Oh, Dad!"**

**I hugged him around the waist, tears streaming again – I was crying so much tonight. He patted my back.**

Leah's point was made by what Bella said.

**"There, now. You don't want to miss your plane."**

**It was hard to talk about love with Charlie – we were so much alike, always reverting to trivial things to avoid embarrassing emotional displays. But this was no time for being self-conscious.**

"Just like Sarabella." E.J grinned.

Sarabella elbowed E.J in the side.

**"I love you forever, Dad," I told him. "Don't forget that."**

**"You, too, Bells. Always have, always will."**

**I kissed his cheek at the same time that he kissed mine.**

**"Call me," he said.**

**"Soon," I promised, knowing this was **_**all**_** I could promise. Just a phone call. My father and my mother could not be allowed to see me again; I would be too different, and much, much too dangerous.**

**"Go on, then," he said gruffly. "Don't want to be late."**

**The guests made another aisle for us. Edward pulled me close to his side as we made our escape.**

**"Are you ready?" he asked.**

**"I am," I said, and I knew that it was true.**

**Everyone applauded when Edward kissed me on the doorstep. Then he rushed me to the car as the rice storm began.**

"_Rice_. Really?" Jared snorted, looking at the Cullens. "Trying to kills the birds, too now,"

Rosalie glared at Jared and muttered, "I'd like to kill you."

**Most of it went wide, but someone, probably Emmett, threw with uncanny precision, and I caught a lot of the ricochets off Edward's back.**

Emmett grinned. "It was me."

"And that's why Alice didn't want to give you rice." Edward shook his head.

**The car was decorated with more flowers that trailed in streamers along its length, and long gossamer ribbons that were tied to a dozen shoes – designer shoes that looked brand-new – dangling behind the bumper.**

"They weren't new – they were _old_." Rosalie said. "But _our _shoes are all in _perfect _condition."

**Edward shielded me from the rice while I climbed in, and then he was in and we were speeding away as I waved out the window and called "I love you" to the porch, where my families waved back.**

**The last image I registered was one of my parents. Phil had both arms wrapped tenderly around Renée. She had one arm tight around his waist but had her free hand reached out to hold Charlie's. So many different kinds of love, harmonious in this one moment. It seemed a very hopeful picture to me.**

"The _feels_!" Emmett said dramatically.

Several people rolled their eyes.

**Edward squeezed my hand.**

**"I love you," he said.**

**I leaned my head against his arm. 'That's why we're here," I quoted him.**

**He kissed my hair.**

**As we turned onto the black highway and Edward really hit the accelerator, I heard a noise over the purr of the engine, coming from the forest behind us. If I could hear it, then he certainly could. But he said nothing as the sound slowly faded in the distance. I said nothing, either. The piercing, heartbroken howling grew fainter and then disappeared entirely.**

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of the front door opening and someone coming in was heard. Moments later, Paul entered the living room.

"Paul!" Rachel exclaimed, quickly getting to her feet. She rushed over to Paul and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Paul returned Rachel's hug, pulling her even closer. "Rachel."

"Don't leave again, you hear me?" She told him, pulling away just enough so she could look up at him.

"I'd like to promise you I won't, but I can't guarantee anything." He told her honestly.

"But you'll try, right?"

Paul just nodded his head, and together, the two of them sat down. They held hands, neither wanted to let go.

"Well," Esme said, looking around. "We'll read one more chapter and then we'll be done for the day. Who would like to read the next chapter?"

"I will." Sarabella volunteered. She quickly got the book from Esme and returned to her seat. She cleared her throat…

**~T~**

**FINISHED!**

**This chapter took me **_**forever**_**! But finally, I am done!**

**Any theories or stuff in this chapter is things I just made up because I'd thought it would be cool!**

**Hope you all liked it!**

**Please review! And sorry for stupid grammar mistakes, as always!**


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